Water tanker overturned in Crockett Co. accident
CROCKETT COUNTY, Tenn. — A tanker truck overturns after taking a tight curve in Crockett County, putting the driver in the hospital. The truck, which was carrying water, had just finished making a delivery when it ended up upside-down in a ditch. Residents say the driver was probably unfamiliar with the road. “I think anyone who’s not from around here, who wouldn’t be familiar with this curve, could take it too fast,” Toni Brasfield said. The accident happened on one of the tight curves on Old Mounds Road in Friendship. “The truck came around the curve hauling water,” Crockett County Emergency Management Director Joe Jones said. “The water shifted and threw him into the ditch.” Lynn Mount was the first on the scene. He was tending to his crops in the area when he heard the crash. “When I first got here, the truck was bottom-side-up with the wheels standing straight up,” Mount said. “The first thing we did was call 911.” First responders had to use the jaws of life to get the driver out of the cab. He was then med-flighted to a Memphis hospital. “We didn’t know if he would be alive or not because that cab was crushed right down on top of him,” Mount said. “We kept talking to him and kept his attention until emergency vehicles arrived.” Residents who live near the curve say they are not surprised. “It was just a matter of time before something like this happened,” resident Toni Brasfield said. “They really need a sign out here to let people know.” The name of the driver and the extent of his injuries are not currently being released. Representatives with the company that owned the tanker declined to go on camera but told us it is a total loss.
