Mosheim Police say speed was a contributing factor in a fatal motor vehicle accident Monday morning.
The victim of the 7:10 am crash on West Andrew Johnson Highway at Turner Hill Road was identified as Lisa D. Coffey, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the report, Officer Josh Laws says he responded to a crash involving a 2016 Toyota RAV4 operated by Coffey and a AAA Freight tractor trailer owned by Amason INC and driven by Tomislav Trstenjak. He was not injured. The truck driver told Officer Laws he had to slow his semi down for the purpose of a vehicle in front of him turning left into the median of at West Andrew Johnson Highway at the Turner Hill/ Payne Road intersection. He stated that as the car turned in front of him, he felt an impact from the rear of his semi rig. He then learned that the Toyota RAV4 had impacted his truck.
During the course of the investigation, there were no skid marks to indicate brakes had been applied. The Toyota RAV4 was directly behind the tractor trailer, and it is believed that the victim was distracted and when she gained her attention to the highway there was not any room for correction to avoid the collision. Due to the amount of damage sustained to the vehicle, it is strongly believed that speed played a factor in this crash. Emergency personnel at the scene Monday reported they were able to extricate the victim from the wreckage a little over an hour after the crash.
Traffic in the area was delayed for a period of time while the accident scene was cleared.
Coffey was a Greeneville High graduate, who had taught previously at Cosby in Cocke County and at West Greene. At the time of her death, she was employed in the Hawkins County School System as a math teacher at Cherokee High School in Rogersville.
