A man was fighting for his life Monday afternoon after a collision involving his sedan, a semi and a garbage truck left the car totaled on Lamar Avenue in Memphis. Memphis police officers responded to the crash just south of Getwell Road at 3:14 p.m., and the man was rushed to a hospital in critical condition. No other injuries were reported.
Sedan Left With Heavy Damage Front and Rear
According to Action News 5, the sedan was totaled in the impact, sustaining heavy front-end and rear-end damage consistent with being struck from both directions. The outlet reported that the man remained in critical condition as he was transported for treatment. The cause of the crash remains under police investigation, and no further details about what led to the collision have been released.
Traffic remained congested in the area as first responders worked to clear the scene, the station's report noted. The stretch of Lamar just south of Getwell Road saw significant backups while crews cleared the wreckage and continued their investigation into how the three vehicles came together.
A Corridor With a History of Serious Crashes
Monday's collision adds to a string of serious wrecks along the same corridor. In February 2025, two men were injured in a separate crash near New Getwell Road and Lamar Avenue, with one suffering critical injuries and the other expected to recover, according to Fox13 Memphis. Hoodline also previously reported on a woman cyclist left in critical condition after a driver struck her at Lamar Avenue and Airways Boulevard, and on a January 2025 fatal crash at Lamar and I-240 that killed one person and injured three others.
Lamar Avenue carries as many as 35,000 heavy commercial trucks a day alongside regular commuter traffic, according to Tennessee Department of Transportation planning data cited in that same Hoodline report. The Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization has designated the roadway as part of the region's High Injury Network, and the Memphis metro area was ranked the most dangerous in the nation for pedestrians earlier in 2024, per a Memphis Flyer report cited in the same piece.
Police have not released additional details about how the sedan, semi and garbage truck collided or what led to the crash. The investigation into Monday's wreck remains ongoing.
