Woman drives across busy Decatur Co. highway into ditch

DECATUR COUNTY, Tenn. — A woman is recovering after her car slid off a busy Decatur County highway into a ditch.

Strewn headlights and sheets of metal are all that’s left of a Perry County woman’s car, but investigators say through the debris comes a miracle.

“It’s a blessing she’s alive. God was with her no doubt, because she took a major crash,” Decatur County Deputy Brian Vitt said.

Vitt says it happened just before noon when a call came in saying a car drove off into a ditch in Perryville.

Authorities say the woman was traveling west on Highway 100 when her car ran off the road, hitting a few trees before coming to a complete stop.

“They said it was near the Beech River bridge, which made us think we may have had a vehicle in the water,” Vitt said. 

But when Vitt arrived on scene, he found the woman sitting outside of her vehicle with no apparent injuries.

“I held her, assisted her and walked her to the ambulance, and EMS took care of her from there,” Vitt said.

Vitt says the victim was transported to Decatur County General Hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.

“She’s good. It’s amazing and a miracle because the car was in bad shape,” Vitt said.

Vitt says drivers should use this as a reminder to be cautious, especially in slick road conditions.

“The roads are very wet, the shoulders are soft, so if you run off the road you are going to run into something,” Vitt said. “So please slow down and drive responsibly.”

Officers say due to the number of agencies that responded, part of Highway 100 near Perryville was briefly shut down.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.