Pleasantville,TN : Woman, 19, dies after crash sends car into turbulent Sevier County river on October, Monday 23th 2017

A woman's body was recovered four miles downstream from where a three-vehicle crash sent her car into the turbulent waters of Little Pigeon River on Monday afternoon, according to Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller.

The woman identified by the Tennessee Highway Patrol as 19-year-old Chloe Lynn McCarter from Gatlinburg was pronounced dead at a hospital.

"This is just a freak accident the way it happened, the way her car careened off and missed everything else, missed the tree, missed the power pole, missed the bridge abutment," Miller said. "There wasn't another stretch along that area that a vehicle could've passed through."

About 2:50 p.m., a Subaru Forester and a Honda Civic were stopped on U.S. Highway 321, waiting to turn left onto Hills Creek Road.

Sign Up: Get breaking news email in your inbox

A Kia Soul, driven by McCarter, crashed at an angle into the back of the Civic, which crashed into the back of the Forester, according to a THP crash report.

The collision sent the Soul off the left side of the road, down an embankment and into the river, which was swollen by recent rains. McCarter managed to escape the vehicle, but the waters swept her away.

Law enforcement agencies arriving on scene immediately found her car about 100 yards from the crash site, Miller said. Authorities verified no one else was in the vehicle, then began to search downriver.

McCarter's body was spotted "caught in some trees" about 5 p.m., Miller said. It took another hour for the Sevier County Volunteer Rescue Squad to recover her body.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. The driver of the Civic, Danielle Lavender, 26, of Newport, and the driver of the Forester, Brittany Wilson, 28, of Sevierville, were not injured.


Source :
Woman, 19, dies after crash sends car into turbulent Sevier County river