A head-on crash on Tennessee Rt. 107 (the Erwin Highway) in the South Central Community on Tuesday afternoon killed one woman and critically injured another woman. Both women were traveling in a car that collided with a tractor-trailer.

The crash occurred about 2:40 p.m. and shut down traffic on Highway 107 for hours, according to a news release issued this morning by Washington County Sheriff Ed Graybeal.

An initial investigation determined that the collision occurred when a 1993 Buick that was traveling east on 107 and driven by Catherine Richardson, 48, of Unicoi, swerved into the oncoming lane and into the path of an oncoming tractor-trailer driven by Joey Cloyd, 40, of Jonesborough, Sheriff Graybeal said this morning in the release.

A passenger in the Buick, Mary Foster, 39, also of Unicoi, died shortly after her arrival on Tuesday at Johnson City Medical Center, said JCMC Supervisor Sue Clark early this morning.

Richardson, the driver of the car, was in critical condition this morning at JCMC, Clark said.

Cloyd, the truck driver, was treated and released at JCMC, Clark said.

Cloyd told Washington County Sheriff's Office deputies that he tried to avoid hitting the car by swerving into the other lane, but that Richardson also swerved to get back into her lane, and the two collided, according to the Johnson City Press.

The road was closed until about 6:30 p.m., when one lane was reopened. The cleanup continued for several more hours, the Press reported.

The Washington County Crash Team was still investigating the crash this morning, and no charges have been filed at this time, Sheriff Graybeal said.