Bystanders free victims in five-vehicle crash on 411
By Wes Wade | (wes.wade@thedailytimes.com)
Several bystanders managed to push a flipped vehicle back onto its wheels and pull two injured occupants out of their smoking car following a five-vehicle collision Friday afternoon on U.S. Highway 411 South near the intersection at Highway 129.
Rural/Metro Ambulance Service transported the driver and passenger — 84-year-old Tellico Plains resident Pritchard Dyer and his 12-year-old daughter, Donteshia Dyer — to University of Tennessee Medical Center, where they were treated and released, hospital staff said.
According to Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper John Pedigo, Pritchard Dyer was traveling northbound in the left lane on Highway 411 South at about 1:48 p.m. when he swerved into the right lane to avoid a collision with a Dodge Ram driven by Douglas Kasemyer, 50, of Vonore.
Dyer told Pedigo that Kasemyer stopped abruptly as the two vehicles approached a red light at the intersection of Highway 129, causing him to swerve right.
When Dyer swerved into the right lane, his Ford Taurus struck a utility trailer hitched to a pickup operated by Anthony Simonic, 25, of Lenoir City. The collision knocked the Taurus onto its driver side and the vehicle skidded back into the left lane, where the roof of the vehicle sideswiped Kasemyer’s pickup.
The Taurus then rolled onto its roof and skidded back into the right lane, where the front of the car struck a Chevrolet Uplander Minivan driven by Anita Ledford, 63, Tellico Plains. This pushed the Taurus completely upside down and back into the left lane, where the passenger side of the vehicle collided with a Jeep Cherokee driven by Stephen Hodge, 32, of Lynwood Drive, Greenback.
This collision pushed Hodge’s Jeep through the Highway 129 intersection and into the southbound lanes of Highway 411 South. Dyer’s Taurus continued traveling through the intersection on its top and stopped near a convenience store at the corner of the cross street.
No brakes applied
Pedigo said there were no signs that Dyer ever applied the brakes.
Several bystanders rushed to the Taurus, which witnesses said was now smoking, and managed to flip the vehicle right side up and help Dyer and his daughter out of the car. They were both taken to UT Medical Center by Rural/Metro Ambulance where they were treated and released.
Rural/Metro transported Hodge, the Jeep Cherokee driver, to Blount Memorial Hospital. Hospital staff were unable to provide a condition update Friday night.
The occupants of the other three vehicles were uninjured, Pedigo said.
The Blount County Sheriff’s Office assisted in directing traffic and Blount County firefighters also responded.
“They did a wonderful job,” Pedigo said. “It’s always wonderful to work with Blount County. They’re a top-notch agency.”
Traffic was backed up for several hours after the crash, Pedigo said, as the scene wasn’t cleared until about 4:30 p.m.
