HeReaux
05-08-2008, 10:51 AM
http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20080508/NEWS/164618988
RIP
Motorcyclist killed in two-vehicle in crash in Townsend
By Mark Boxley
of The Daily Times Staff
A pair of black boots, a helmet and a backpack were strewn in the gravel on the side of the road as emergency workers loaded the body of their owner into an ambulance after a fatal motorcycle accident Wednesday on State Highway 73 in Townsend.
John W. Jackson, 59, Lafayette, La., was pronounced dead at 4 p.m. at the scene almost an hour after the accident happened at about 3:09 p.m.
According to Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper John Pedigo, Jackson was driving toward Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Highway 73 when a semitrailer in front of him slowed to turn into the Carriage House Restaurant, 8310 State Highway 73, Townsend. Jackson apparently didn't see the truck slow down until it was too late, and after slamming on his brakes, he skidded for about 37 feet and flipped over the handle bars of his Honda motorcycle before hitting the truck, Pedigo said. Jackson was wearing a helmet at the time.
According to Brooke Moreland, Townsend, who was at the Carriage House Restaurant waiting to turn out onto Highway 73, Jackson was looking over his shoulder moments before the truck slowed to turn.
"(Jackson) was looking behind him and he looked up, and I guess he panicked," she said. "I guess he realized he didn't have time to stop."
Joseph Robinson, Townsend, who was in the vehicle with Moreland, said Jackson was unresponsive after the accident. A Lifestar helicopter responded to the scene, Robinson said, and stayed on the ground for a while. But by that point it was already too late, he said.
"He was gone by then, by the time they got here," he said.
The driver of the semitrailer, Troy Lynn Conyers, 41, Knoxville, was not injured in the accident and was not at fault, Pedigo said. Based on witness statements and evidence from the scene, the cause of the accident appeared to be inattentive driving on the part of Jackson, he said.
Along with THP and Lifestar, the Blount County Sheriff's Office, Townsend Police Department, Townsend Volunteer Fire Department and Rural/Metro Ambulance Service responded to the scene of the accident.
Wednesday's accident was the fourth traffic fatality in Blount County for 2008. By this time last year, there had been nine traffic fatalities in Blount County.
RIP
Motorcyclist killed in two-vehicle in crash in Townsend
By Mark Boxley
of The Daily Times Staff
A pair of black boots, a helmet and a backpack were strewn in the gravel on the side of the road as emergency workers loaded the body of their owner into an ambulance after a fatal motorcycle accident Wednesday on State Highway 73 in Townsend.
John W. Jackson, 59, Lafayette, La., was pronounced dead at 4 p.m. at the scene almost an hour after the accident happened at about 3:09 p.m.
According to Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper John Pedigo, Jackson was driving toward Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Highway 73 when a semitrailer in front of him slowed to turn into the Carriage House Restaurant, 8310 State Highway 73, Townsend. Jackson apparently didn't see the truck slow down until it was too late, and after slamming on his brakes, he skidded for about 37 feet and flipped over the handle bars of his Honda motorcycle before hitting the truck, Pedigo said. Jackson was wearing a helmet at the time.
According to Brooke Moreland, Townsend, who was at the Carriage House Restaurant waiting to turn out onto Highway 73, Jackson was looking over his shoulder moments before the truck slowed to turn.
"(Jackson) was looking behind him and he looked up, and I guess he panicked," she said. "I guess he realized he didn't have time to stop."
Joseph Robinson, Townsend, who was in the vehicle with Moreland, said Jackson was unresponsive after the accident. A Lifestar helicopter responded to the scene, Robinson said, and stayed on the ground for a while. But by that point it was already too late, he said.
"He was gone by then, by the time they got here," he said.
The driver of the semitrailer, Troy Lynn Conyers, 41, Knoxville, was not injured in the accident and was not at fault, Pedigo said. Based on witness statements and evidence from the scene, the cause of the accident appeared to be inattentive driving on the part of Jackson, he said.
Along with THP and Lifestar, the Blount County Sheriff's Office, Townsend Police Department, Townsend Volunteer Fire Department and Rural/Metro Ambulance Service responded to the scene of the accident.
Wednesday's accident was the fourth traffic fatality in Blount County for 2008. By this time last year, there had been nine traffic fatalities in Blount County.