A 73-year-old Oliver Springs man died in a Sunday morning crash on Pellissippi Parkway, authorities said.
The collision that killed Eddy Palmer involved three vehicles and two separate crashes between Topside Road and Alcoa Highway in the eastbound lanes of Pellissippi Parkway, the Alcoa Police Department said.
The first two-vehicle crash occurred at about 8:12 a.m. Sunday when James Green, 28, of Knoxville, was momentarily blinded by the sun, causing the eastbound 1992 Honda Accord he was driving to rear-end a 2006 Ford Ranger pickup truck driven by Palmer, who lived on Joel Road in Oliver Springs, the police department said. There were no injuries in the initial crash.
But the first collision disabled Palmer’s pickup truck and caused it to face westbound in the eastbound right-hand lane, an APD press release said.
Before Alcoa police officers arrived, a third driver, Jason Cox, 39, of Knoxville, was also apparently blinded by the sun as he approached the crash, and his 2004 Ford Matrix hit Palmer’s pickup truck, the release said. The second crash pushed the pickup truck into Palmer, who was standing next to his vehicle, and caused fatal injuries, the APD said. Palmer was pronounced dead on the scene by emergency services personnel.
A press release said Cox was taken by Rural/Metro Ambulance Service to Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center for non life-threatening injuries. Green was not injured during the wreck. Rural/Metro and Alcoa firefighters assisted Alcoa police officers at the scene, the release said.
