KINGSPORT (AP) — A former Tennessee House Republican leader was injured in a highway wreck that sent him and four others to the hospital.

Kingsport police tell the Johnson City Press that Jason Mumpower suffered non-life-threatening injuries in Thursday's Interstate 81 wreck.

Police say a tractor-trailer hauling frozen chicken swerved to avoid a collision in traffic that had slowed down after an SUV hit a guardrail. The tractor-trailer rear-ended a car, knocking it into the back of a U-Haul truck. The car rolled over and landed back on its wheels.

Mumpower, now the state comptroller's chief of staff, was first elected to the House in 1996. He was in line to become House speaker after the 2008 election, but Republican Rep. Kent Williams banded with Democrats to win the position by one vote.