OAKTOWN — An Oaktown woman lost her life on Friday afternoon following a two-vehicle collision at a busy Knox County intersection.
According to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, the fatal accident occurred just before 1:00 p.m. on U.S. Route 41 at the intersection of East Freelandville Road, near the local Casey’s station.
Investigating deputies reported that 65-year-old Lela Parks of Oaktown was traveling westbound on Freelandville Road. Emergency scanner traffic and initial reports indicate that as Parks attempted to drive across or pull onto the highway, she entered the northbound lanes of U.S. 41 directly into the path of an oncoming pickup truck.
The northbound truck, driven by 37-year-old Thomas Darden of Nashville, Tennessee, struck Parks’ passenger vehicle directly on the driver’s side door. The force of the impact sent Parks’ vehicle spinning into the highway median, where it came to rest.
First responders arrived on the scene shortly after the 1:00 p.m. dispatch, but Parks had suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have not yet released details regarding whether Darden or any passengers in the pickup truck sustained injuries.
Traffic on U.S. 41 was disrupted for a couple of hours Friday afternoon as emergency crews worked to clear the wreckage and accident reconstruction teams mapped out the scene. The Knox County Sheriff’s Department continues to investigate the crash.
