Two confirmed dead, at least one seriously injured in morning wreck on U.S. 280

280 wreck

BIRMINGHAM, Al.
Two people are now confirmed dead in a morning rush hour wreck on U.S. 280 and traffic remains shut down in both directions.

The call for the wreck came in about 6:13 a.m., said Mountain Brook Battalion Chief Chris Mullins. A Mountain Brook firefighter on his way to work came upon the scene just as the wreck happened and pulled people from the burning vehicles, Mullins said.

Here's what police and fire officials believe happened in the wreck:

A pickup truck traveling westbound on U.S. 280 just beyond the Brookwood Village exit, crossed the median and collided with an SUV. The pickup burst into flames on impact.

Another car was struck in the accident and ended up in a ravine. A Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority Bus was also struck, but not seriously damaged in the wreck.

One of the occupants of the SUV was dead on the scene and the body had not been removed at 8:15 a.m.

Another occupant of the SUV was taken to an area hospital and pronounced dead.
The driver of the pickup truck was a taken to an area hospital with very serious injuries.
The driver of the car that went into the ravine was taken to the hospital, but did not have life-threatening injuries. No one was injured on the bus.