NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The mother of the man hit on Intestate 40 is sharing what she knows about the night he died on the roadway as a pedestrian.
Nashville police said Austin S. David, 22, of Mt. Juliet, died on I-40 East between the Donelson Pike and Stewarts Ferry Pike exits. Officers located him at 11:15 a.m. Police said it is unknown when the collision occurred although it may have happened as early as 2 a.m.
I've spoken to his mother Rachel Reed.
He was 6 feet tall and around 320 pounds.
Reed has learned her son was in a car with a friend returning home from Nashville on I-40 and that there was an argument. One way or the other, she said her son was either willingly dropped off or forced from the vehicle there on the shoulder of the interstate in the middle of the night.
It's still not clear how or exactly when he was hit or by whom. We do know there were no witnesses or vehicles that remained on the scene after he was hit. There is no TDOT cam video because they do not record.
Anyone with information about this fatal crash is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at nick.beres@newschannel5.com.
This story by Aaron Cantrell reminds me of my first school in Dyersburg, TN. I was a student at Bruce School from Kindergarten to second grade until the school system was integrated. My parents graduated from this K-12 school in 1960 in one of the city's African American communities. After sitting empty for several years, part of the school was demolished while the rest was renovated and now serves as a community center for the Bruce community in Dyersburg. A local pastor is now trying to do something similar in the Cemetery community in Rutherford Co.
-Lelan Statom
