Farragut district wants to slow down traffic after hit-and-run
Concord UMC gathers to pray for student injured at school bus stop
Concord UMC is hosting a prayer meeting in the church’s Prayer Labyrinth for a Knox County student who was seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident at a school bus stop.
Residents of the Farragut neighborhood of Thornton Heights, angry at not getting answers to their questions about the hit-and-run accident involving a 16-year-old girl on the first day of school earlier this month, have begun advocating for more traffic safety measures.
Two requests for a traffic calming study were submitted to the city last week, with residents wondering whether speed bumps or other measures could slow drivers, particularly the flood of motorists who use residential streets to avoid heavy traffic near the campus, which is at the intersection of Kingston Pike and Concord Road and is home to three Knox County schools.
Just hours after the Knox County Sheriff’s Office told the media on August 21 that no charges would be filed against the hit-and-run driver, the Knox County District Attorney’s Office told Knox News that no decision had been made.
While prosecutors weigh their decision, neighbors are taking action and demanding a solution to prevent drivers from using side streets as thoroughfares.
The cut-through sweet spot
Thornton Heights residents report that drivers frequently ignore the 25 mph speed limit.
“I’ve been forced off the road because cars weren’t paying attention, and others have had similar experiences,” said Liz Agee, who led the neighborhood’s effort on one of the traffic calming measures. “We’re doing everything we can to educate our kids and pedestrians, but it’s difficult.”
Brad Watts has lived on Hughlan Drive, not far from where the girl was hit and injured, for over 50 years, and he was more than happy to detail the pattern of carnage he sees on his doorstep every day.
Concord Road, which heads north toward Kingston Pike, is constantly backed up by traffic, Watts told Knox News, especially during the school year when Farragut’s middle and high schools have classes on the nearby campus. Hughlan Drive is noticeably busier as drivers try to avoid congestion.
In the morning: Motorists use Hughlan Drive as a shortcut to Thornton Drive, which flows past most school traffic and onto Kingston Pike after about three-quarters of a mile.
In the afternoon: Drivers do the opposite: They leave Kingston Pike and take Thornton to Hughlan to shortcut onto Concord Road. Typically, drivers don’t go all the way down Thornton, Watts said, because it’s almost a blind turn from there to get onto Concord Road.
Watts would like to install cameras or other deterrents other than speed bumps, although those would be nice too, he said. He is surprised he hasn’t heard of more pedestrians being hit in the 50 years he’s worked at the building.
“We’re just in an ideal location where traffic isn’t backed up (along Concord). … It’s attractive” to motorists, he said. “It’s been that way for a long time.”
Farragut’s options are limited
Farragut conducted a speed study in the neighborhood in 2017 and added speed bumps at both ends of Thornton Drive.
The city administration is ready to help, spokeswoman Wendy Smith told Knox News, but ultimately it is up to drivers to be much more cautious.
“We’re happy to work with the neighborhood and help them have the safest streets possible,” she said. “Unfortunately, people use neighbors as a shortcut.”
Smith said the options commonly proposed are not necessarily practical: Closing residential access roads could pose a safety risk, and while an increased police presence would be ideal, the city does not have its own police force and is entirely dependent on the services of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.
What happened in the hit-and-run accident?
The driver, a 59-year-old man, was in his 2022 Ford F-450 truck when he struck the girl waiting for a school bus on the morning of Aug. 8. He did not stop after hitting her. As the sheriff’s office attempted to identify the driver, he contacted investigators the next day to say he may have struck someone, according to the accident report.
Knox News is not naming the man because no charges have been filed against him.
The man told investigators he was turning left from Hughlan Drive onto Thornton Drive when he felt a blow and “stopped and looked in the rearview mirror.” He continued driving because he only saw what he thought was a blanket lying on the side of the road.
He said he used the route as a shortcut to avoid school traffic on Concord Road.
The girl, whose name Knox News is not naming, was hit “in the lower midsection of her body,” according to the report. The sheriff’s office said in a post on Facebook that the girl was found lying on the ground when a school bus arrived.
She was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where her condition was listed as critical but stable at last update from the sheriff’s office.
Assistant District Attorney Sean McDermott told Knox News last week that no charging decisions had been made while the office awaits “medical records and additional information.” McDermott did not respond to an emailed Aug. 26 question about the status of the pending decision.
Did the driver take a shortcut through the intersection?
According to the police report, the girl was sitting on the side of Hughlan Drive with her legs outstretched. The man was traveling east on Hughlan and turned left onto Thornton when he struck the girl with his left rear tire.
There is a stop sign at the end of Hughlan Drive. If the man had turned correctly onto Thornton Street, he would have been in the right lane. The girl was on the left side of the road when she was hit.
The report notes that the man did not stay on the right track.
Tyler Whetstone is an investigative reporter focused on responsible journalism. Contact Tyler via email at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tyler_whetstone.
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