A Tennessee Highway Patrol sergeant was injured Thursday when an elderly driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 40 in Dickson County crashed into his vehicle near mile marker 176, close to the Interstate 840 interchange. Both the trooper and the other driver are expected to make a full recovery, according to THP.
Sgt. Goddard, who works in the Tennessee Highway Patrol's Memphis district, was returning from a training session in Nashville when he encountered the wrong-way driver on the interstate, as reported by News Channel 5 Nashville. THP said the elderly man was traveling the wrong way on I-40 when the two vehicles collided. Both Goddard and the other driver were injured in the crash, but troopers say they are expected to recover.
The Interchange and Nearby Crashes
The crash site sits near the western terminus of Interstate 840, a major outer bypass loop that connects back into I-40 near Burns, Tennessee, according to Wikipedia.
Wrong-way crashes have also struck this same interstate corridor before. In February, a fatal wrong-way crash on I-40 West in Dickson County was reported by WKRN Channel 2. In June, a similar head-on wrong-way collision at mile marker 258 on I-40 in neighboring Smith County killed both drivers involved and shut down eastbound lanes for hours overnight, per the Smith County Insider.
The Risks of Wrong-Way Crashes
Wrong-way crashes can have deadly consequences.
Goddard was returning from training in Nashville when the crash occurred near Dickson County.
