Metro Nashville Police Department has reported that four people were killed in multiple car accidents in Nashville over the weekend.
The first reported crash happened on I-24 East at the Haywood Lane ramp on Friday, June 9. The preliminary investigation indicates a Honda Accord was traveling east when, for reasons unknown, the vehicle lost control and is believed to have struck the front of a Ford Fusion, causing the Ford to lose control as well.
Both vehicles entered a yaw and swerved between different lanes before they crossed through the grass median at the top of the Haywood Lane entrance ramp. The Honda ended up in front of the Ford with its driver’s side door against a rock wall. The Ford struck the Honda in the front engine compartment.
The driver of the Ford, Sofia Balk, 17, of Chesterfield, Missouri, was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she died.
The driver of the Honda and Balk’s two passengers were all transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. There were no signs of impairment at the scene on part of either driver.
A second fatal crash was reported Saturday morning around 5 a.m. on I-40 East just before the I-24 split. The preliminary investigation indicates a Mitsubishi Galant left the roadway and struck a rock wall.
The driver was transported to TriStar Centennial Medical Center where he died.
Just before 7 p.m. on Saturday, a man was killed in a single-vehicle crash in the 600 block of Neelys Bend Road. Metro Police say the victim is presumed to be Mark R. Jones, 40, of Madison.
The investigation shows that a Dodge Ram pickup truck belonging to Jones was traveling east on Neelys Bend Road at a high rate of speed at 6:25 p.m. when it ran off the right side of the roadway coming out of a curve and struck a large tree. The pickup truck caught fire and the driver was trapped inside.
The Medical Examiner’s Office is working to verify the driver’s identity.
Later that night around 10:30 p.m., a motorcyclist died following a crash on Thompson Lane at Nolensville Pike.
The preliminary investigation indicates Benjamin Cowherd, 35, of Nashville, was driving his Honda VTX motorcycle in the left eastbound lane of Thompson Lane when he was struck by a Saturn Aura making a left turn at the intersection of Nolensville Pike.
Cowherd was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he died. There were no signs of impairment on part of either driver at the scene.
The driver of the Saturn, Carlos Rafael Paz, 19, was charged for driving without a license and no insurance.
