CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — Richburg firefighter T. Melton tried to hold his emotions in check, talking to Channel 9 about what he witnessed on Interstate 77 Thursday.



He was first on the scene, having spotted the thick black column of smoke from 4 miles away as he was leaving the fire station.



"I thought it was just a minor accident on the interstate," Melton said.



Once he pulled into the median, it looked like a war zone filled with smoke, flames, debris and chaos.



"We had two tractor-trailers on fire. We had woods and grass fires, and we had fire in the median around the vehicles that still had people in them," Melton said.



Crash victims were laying in the roadway.