KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Knoxville drivers are speaking up following Monday’s nine-vehicle crash along John Sevier Highway. Many described it as “horrifying” and the worst crash they had ever seen.
Rebecca Maze and Brooke Duran are very familiar with the intersection near Mountain Grove and John Sevier Highway intersection, and not for good reasons.
Maze lives just a few minutes away from the area. Duran drives through it on her way to work. Between the two of them, they’ve seen drivers speed, run through traffic lights, weave in and out of traffic and, of course, car crashes.
“I myself have witnessed probably at least five wrecks that have happened at that intersection,” said Duran.
Maze said she was nearly hit a year ago as she drove down the road.
“We saw somebody just weaving just weaving and we pulled over and let them by and they hit the next person,” Maze told WATE.
Duran told WATE she has seen people be blinded by the hill and pull out only to be crashed into.
“You can turn left when the light’s green, not just if there’s a green arrow and I feel like that’s a big, big issue because the hill is blind,” explained Duran.
Neither woman claims to know how to fix the problem, but each has their own suggestions.
“I definitely think updated traffic lights could help make a difference because that is a very busy intersection and there’s just a lot going on with it being a four-way traffic intersection,” said Duran.
“It falls on us as drivers,” Maze said. “Be patient, watch ahead, don’t be so quick to run the red light. It’s not going to make or break whether you make your appointment or so what if you’re two minutes late.”
Regardless, if something doesn’t change, many people fear it’s only a matter of time until another horrific crash happens.
Other residents react
WATE reached out to several people who were nearby when the crash happened and who saw the aftermath. Their accounts are below.
I was on my way to run some errands. I had just pulled in Lowes and heard the sound. Something toward me to go find what it was. I just did what anyone would have done, that’s all. Old instincts, kicked in. I was a mess afterwards and forgot all about what I needed to do. I came back home to clean up. I had some hand sanitizer in my Jeep and used all of it so I could drive home. That’s about it all. I just hope all will be okay…
Robert Woods, local resident
I saw it after it happened before paramedics got there. The motorcycles were mangled in such a mess it was hard to tell what they were except one motorcycle was recognizable, I saw one small SUV on the side of the road that was rear ended extremely bad. When the police and fire trucks got there they blocked the roadway where you couldn’t see anything.
Danielle Dandy Morey
At last report, the Knoxville Police Department (KPD) Crash Reconstruction personnel and the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) are still investigating the crash. No arrests have been made.