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Investigation complete in chain-reaction semi crash spurred by interstate suicide

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An investigation into a chain reaction crash started by a suicide on an interstate has been completed in Tennessee this week. 

The incident happened on the morning of November 4th in Williamson County, Tennessee. 

According to WKRN, Rodeny Garrett, a man wanted by the FBI for the attempted murder of his wife, shot himself on Interstate 840 eastbound and then fell into oncoming traffic. Cars then began slowing to avoid hitting the body, but a motorist driving a Yukon was not paying attention and crashed into the back of a line of four stopped vehicles, including a wrecker and two semi trucks. The force of the impact then dislodged a tire from the Yukon and sent it crashing into another semi truck. 

“Apparently he was distracted, not paying attention, and couldn’t stop in time and swerved to the right and struck four other vehicles,” Lt. Mobley said of the Yukon driver. 

“This lane was backed up pretty far and I merged to the left lane,” the truck driver, who was hit by the tire, explained. 

“He was behind me and I don’t think he knew that the traffic was at a dead stop. And all I heard was ‘boom’ and I looked in my rear view and he was like this way,” the driver told investigators.

The chain reaction crash backed up traffic for three miles as crews worked to clear the wreckage and investigate the incident. 

Thankfully, no one, excluding the suicide victim, was hurt in the incident, and no citations were issued – not even to the driver of the Yukon.

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