NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — One person died when their Jeep Wrangler crashed into a road maintenance truck early Tuesday morning.
The crash happened at about 1:30 a.m. on Interstate 65 north, near Rosa L. Parks Boulevard. All northbound lanes were closed for several hours for the investigation but have since reopened.
According to TDOT Region 3 Spokesperson Rebekah Hammonds, a contracted crew, R.D. construction, hired by the Tennessee Department of Transportation was about to do guardrail work at the I-65/I-24 split at the time of the crash.
Hammonds said the 33-year-old truck driver was putting down the first of 3 advanced warning signs when the Jeep crashed into the truck.
Marque Lichelle Hamilton, 29, has been identified as the driver of the Jeep who was killed in the collision, according to Metro police.
The 33-year-old truck driver was injured too. Metro police said the impact of the crash pushed the truck forward, running over the contracted T-DOT truck operator. They're expected to be okay.
They said toxicology testing will be conducted to determine whether impairment was a factor in this fatal crash.
NewsChannel 5 can confirm the truck was equipped with flashing lights and, from the photos given to us, NewsChannel 5 noticed the attenuator was not lowered down on the truck.
The yellow piece of safety equipment is basically a crash cushion that is mounted to the rear of a safety truck, which would absorb the impact of a crash.
T-DOT is suspending operations with this specific contractor right now to make sure they were following safety protocols at the time of the crash.
The fatal crash is under investigation.
