A late-night drive in Old Hickory turned deadly just after midnight Monday, when a car and a tractor-trailer slammed into each other head-on, killing a woman and leaving her vehicle mangled on Robinson Road.
The crash happened on Old Hickory Boulevard at Robinson Road near Hickory Industrial Road, authorities said. The impact was severe enough that crews shut down the westbound side of Robinson Road for hours while investigators worked the scene and debris was cleared. The roadway reopened around 3 a.m.
Metro Nashville Police officers arrived to find a passenger vehicle and a semi that had collided head-on, according to WSMV. The female driver of the car died at the scene. Witnesses told officers the woman had been driving on the wrong side of Robinson Road in the moments before the collision with the tractor-trailer. Crews stayed on scene through the early morning hours to clear the wreckage and reopen traffic.
Wrong-way crashes are rare but often deadly
Wrong-way incidents make up only a small slice of overall crashes, but they cause a disproportionate share of deaths. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found there were roughly 430 fatal wrong-way crashes per year on divided highways between 2010 and 2018. The group also noted that alcohol impairment and older age both increase the likelihood that a driver will end up traveling in the wrong direction.
The Federal Highway Administration reports that wrong-way crashes often happen at night and frequently involve high-severity head-on impacts, which helps explain why they are so often deadly even when they are relatively rare.
Investigation and public information
Authorities have not released the victim’s name or a probable cause for the crash, according to WSMV. Anyone with information about what happened is asked to contact the Metro Nashville Police Department. The department lists its main phone numbers and other contact details on its website at the Metro Nashville Police Department.
Investigators are continuing to analyze the evidence and reconstruct the crash to determine how the wrong-way driving started and what unfolded in the final moments. This story will be updated if MNPD or other officials release new details.
