Motorcyclist killed after being struck by vehicle while walking in a traffic lane on Highway 153 is identified

The Chattanooga Police Department has reported that a female motorcyclist was killed Wednesday night when struck by a motorist after she stopped her motorcycle on Highway 153 and walked into one of the traffic lanes in an effort to retrieve an item that had apparently fallen from her motorcycle.

The department said she has been identified as Deani Jackson Locke, 44.

The police department said in a release that the driver of the truck, Eddie Gene Davis Jr., 43, had thought he had struck a deer, but turned around and discovered it was a pedestrian.

The police department said the accident was not a hit-and-run as initially reported by some and said the investigation is still underway.