(Smith County Insider Press) Gordonsville, Tenn. – Around 4:50 am on Friday morning, February 3, Smith County 911 received a call reporting a rollover accident on I-40. The caller reported that a man had been ejected from a vehicle.
Upon arriving on scene, authorities found a man lying in the roadway around the 252 East bound mile maker. The man was identified as Zachary Ryan Decker, 27, of Cookeville, Tenn. Decker was driving a 2001 Honda Civic.
Decker was traveling East on I-40 when he attempted to negotiate a curve and lost control. Decker struck a tractor-trailer truck, causing him to flip and begin to roll down the center of I-40. The vehicle came to a rest on the driver’s side, facing North. Decker’s vehicle was then struck by a second tractor-trailer truck, causing it to spin clockwise, at which time Decker was ejected. The vehicle came to a final rest on all four wheels in the center of I-40.
I-40 was completely shut down for nearly two hours and one lane was later opened while the crews removed the vehicles from the scene.
Vanderbilt LifeFlight landed on I-40 and airlifted Decker to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville with critical injuries. Decker’s condition is unknown at this time.
The crash scene was investigated by Trooper Brandon Jackson of the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Charges are pending at this time.
