The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Source:
Posted: Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:34 PM
Three Year Old Girls Passes Away From Sunday Crash Near Rockford
On Monday, BCSO said the three-year-old girl passed away on Sunday.
BCSO identified the driver as 31-year-old Shanna Hatley. Hatley was taken by ambulance to UT Medical Center. Two backseat passengers, a one-and-a-half-year-old and the three-year-old, were also taken to UT Medical Center. The younger child was transferred to Children's Hospital.
Officials said a chihuahua in the vehicle did not survive the crash.
According to BCSO, Hatley was driving west on Martin Mill Pike near Hollybrook Road. She told deputies she had just negotiated a right curve and was entering a straightaway when a car veered into her lane and forced her off the roadway. She told deputies she traveled in a straight line for 15 to 20 yards before she struck a concrete culvert, which caused the vehicle to rotate clockwise, hit a downhill embankment and go through a barbwire fence before it came to a rest in a pasture.
BCSO said no one was ejected from the vehicle, but that Hatley was not wearing a seat belt. Officials said both children were in forward-facing booster seats.
As of Friday, the sheriff's office Traffic Safety Unit was investigating the accident.