| One-vehicle accident claims young boy; charges pending against South Fulton man |
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Posted: Wednesday, October 3, 2012 10:00 pm
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By CHRIS MENEES
Staff Reporter
A 4-year-old boy died Tuesday after a vehicle went airborne and struck a tree near South Fulton.
The child, Chance Hoover of South Fulton, died in a one-car crash that occurred about 3:05 p.m. on the Ken-Tenn Highway, just south of Pierce Station Road, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
He was a passenger in a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Ricky Hopper II, 32, of South Fulton.
The THP reported Hop-per was southbound on the Ken-Tenn Highway (State Highway 214) when his vehicle crossed the center line and ran off the left roadway edge. The car struck a driveway culvert and became airborne and overturned, striking a tree with its roof. The vehicle came to final rest facing northbound on the east roadway edge.
Hopper, who apparently was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle and sustained injuries in the wreck. He was flown to Regional Medical Center in Memphis, THP Sgt. Carl Jones told The Messenger.
The child, who was restrained in a child passenger restraint device, was pronounced dead at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union City.
The accident remains under investigation today and charges are pending, according to Jones.
The THP was assisted at the scene by the THP’s Critical Incident Response Team, the Obion County Sheriff’s Department and the Obion County Rescue Squad.
The youngster’s death Tuesday afternoon marked the 12th traffic fatality so far this year in Obion County. By comparison, there were three traffic fatalities countywide for all of 2011 and five in 2010, which resulted in the THP’s stepping up local seat belt enforcement in recent months.
Of this year’s local traffic deaths, five occurred in January alone, including a triple fatality accident near Hornbeak just a week into the new year. Other single-fatality wrecks occurred in February, March, April and June, and the THP previously noted seat belts would have made a difference in several of the crashes.Published in The Messenger 10.3.12 |
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