A man was seriously injured last Thursday in a head-on collision with a dump truck on Highway 146 at 6730 Short Mountain Highway.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, around 2:45 p.m. 34-year-old Joshua Baxter of Smithville was traveling east in a 2016 Dodge Journey when he apparently crossed into the path of an oncoming 2001 Holmes Services Mack RD6 Dump truck driven by 32-year-old Adam Tramel of Rock Island. As Tramel was swerving to avoid collision Baxter, Baxter swerved back into the path Tramel striking the dump truck head on.
Deputies with the DeKalb Sheriff’s Department, crews with the DeKalb Fire Department, the DeKalb Rescue Squad, DeKalb EMS, and units of the Smithville Fire Department responded to the scene.
Baxter’s SUV was totaled and first responders worked over 30 minutes to extricate him from the crumbled wreckage. He was airlifted from the scene to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville with life threatening injuries.
Tramel received minor injuries in the crash.