WTVF-TV reported that retired firefighter and helicopter technician said that I-440 needs better medians following a fatal car accident. According to WTVF, Rich Hunter was returning home from an out-of-town trip when he was involved in a major crash on I-440 in July.
“All the normal things to keep me safe and all of a sudden out of the blue here it came,” Hunter told WTVF. “There was no reaction time. It was just a second.”
Metro Nashville Police Department told WTVF that Tammy Santomango was driving a Lincoln Town Car when her vehicle left the lane, hitting a berm in the median, launching it into the air, at Hunter’s vehicle. “I saw this big, blue car coming up over the embankment and then the next thing you know, I was over on the side of the road climbing out of my car,” Hunter told WTVF.
The crash killed Santomango, and sent Hunter and three others to the hospital with injuries. Hunter told WTVF that the highway is “very, very dangerous” because the median hides traffic and has unexpected turns.
A Tennessee Department of Transportation representative said that the agency is exploring ways to make the highway safer, including adding guardrails. “What we want to do is make the roads safe for everyone. We don’t want to just put up something that could actually cause more people to get hurt,” spokesperson Deanna Lambert told WTVF.
Hopefully, the state will do something to help alleviate potential accidents on I-440. The design of the intestate is more than 35 years old, according to WTVF. If you have been injured or have had a family member killed in a car accident, contact our Nashville attorney at the Law Office of Stanley A. Davis today.
“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” – Psalms 16:11