BRYAN COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) — A fatal crash in Bryan County shut down a portion of Interstate 16 for several hours Wednesday.

Officials said it happened when a van ran into the back of a semi-truck that was pulling back onto the road from the shoulder.

The incident caused traffic in Chatham County and Effingham County, leading to another semi-truck crash on I-16.

“One wasn’t paying enough attention and ran into the back of the first semi,” said Brian Bailey, the public information officer for Effingham County.

He says one of the two passengers in the rear semi was ejected from their seat. Both passengers were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

“The driver of the first semi is actually fine. He’s OK. He was walking around here on the scene. So it’s just the occupants of the second vehicle, the second semi, that was taken to the hospital,” said Bailey.

He says traffic crews responded within minutes. They put a detour before the crash to ease the backup.

“It was closed down for a couple hours so that the emergency crews can get everything cleaned up, but the two semis in this particular incident were the only two vehicles involved,” said Bailey.

The victim of the fatal crash has not been identified at this time.