Victims of deadly I-40 crash in

LENOIR CITY, Tenn. (WATE) — The Tennessee Highway Patrol has released a preliminary report into a multivehicle crash on Interstate 40 in Loudon County that left two people dead.

The crash occurred just after noon Monday and shut down I-40 near I-75 for several hours. A preliminary THP report obtained by 6 News identifies the two victims as Kymberly Morquecho of Texas and Guadalupe Rodriguez. Both were 35 years old.

Investigators wrote in the report that a westbound Dodge S15 was struck from behind by a Ford F-150, causing the Dodge to travel across the grass median into eastbound lanes. It went airborne and struck a Hyundai Sonata containing Morquecho and Rodriguez as well as a cable barrier.

Two other eastbound vehicles struck debris on the roadway or from the cable barrier. The driver of the Dodge S15 was also injured.

Charges are pending against the driver of the F-150, according to the THP report.

'She was awesome' | Woman shares story of longtime friend killed in Loudon County crash The crash on I-40 killed a couple traveling through Loudon County. Longtime friend, Yael Fuentes, remembers one of the victims as full of light.

LOUDON COUNTY, Tenn. WBIR.com— Two people died and at least one person was hurt after a serious crash involving at least four vehicles on I-40 on Monday, according to the Loudon County Sheriff's Office.

Yael Fuentes was friends with one of the women killed for almost 20 years. Fuentes said Kym Morquecho was traveling to Massachusetts with her partner, Guadalupe Rodriguez.

Morquecho had just been accepted to the University of Massachusetts Amherst to earn her doctorate in English.

Fuentes said she never expected to hear that Morquecho had died on her way to her new apartment. She said they had just been joking about a similar situation.

"I told her, 'You're gonna go through the Appalachian Mountains. What if you go missing? Like, all those people that go missing,' and we were laughing," Fuentes said. "I said, 'I'm going to go join a TV show and tell them every time that she walked in the room, there was light.' She said, 'No, you better tell them that a gray cloud came in whenever I walked in the room.'"

Fuentes said she got calls from two of Morquecho's siblings. She first thought her friend had stalled or had other car troubles. Then she was told she had died.

The couple was killed in the crash, but Morquecho's dog, Zoe, survived.

Tim Suter, the Roane County emergency services director, said Zoe had jumped out of the car and was found by a passerby in the median. Later, she was taken to the Roane County Animal Shelter.

"She was obviously shaken from the accident," Suter said. "One of our staff members checked her over, gave her a bath, got her cleaned up and got her settled in. She really didn't have any injuries that we could determine. She's been in good shape. She's eating well. She's well-behaved. She's housebroken. Very friendly little puppy."

Since the shelter posted about Zoe's situation, dozens of people have offered to foster or adopt the dog. Suter said they're first working to get in contact with Morquecho's family.

"We're going to do whatever we can to reunite Zoe with family," he said. "There's no real timeline for us at this point. If they end up having to surrender her, we'll make every effort to get her placed."

Fuentes said the family is working on the immediate next steps for Morquecho, and then they'll determine where to place her dog. She said that as they navigate losing a dear friend and family member, they'll remember the person she was.

"She was just very sarcastic and funny," Fuentes said. "She was awesome, very intelligent. Such a good person, she really was."

10News has been in contact with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, which is leading this investigation. A spokesperson said a report will be sent as soon as it is made available.

Roane County helps dog get back to Texas after owners killed in Loudon County crash
Zoe was in need of a new home after Kymberly Morquecho and Guadalupe Rodriguez died in the crash on I-40

ROANE COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) - Zoe, the dog whose owners were killed in a Loudon County crash Monday, has made it to Texas. The Roane County Animal Shelter said community donations and a trip to Texas by DeTrease Kiser, the executive director of the county humane society, made it happen.

Zoe was in need of a new home after Kymberly Morquecho and Guadalupe Rodriguez died in the crash on I-40. We spoke with the animal shelter Wednesday, and a representative said the dog came out of the crash almost unscathed.

“She came in with no injuries; she had a bump on her head, a scab on her ear, and how this dog made it out of something so devastating is beyond me,” said Hailey Crabtree with the Roane County Animal Shelter.

Zoe will live with Suzanna Beltran, a friend of Morquecho’s. She said Wednesday that the dog will be safe and sound.

“I need to bring Zoe home, and I know that’s what Kym would have wanted for Zoe, and she’ll be in good hands,” Beltran said.

The shelter said people raised hundreds of dollars to pay for the trip, which Kiser took all the way to Texas to drop off the dog.