One person died and four people were injured in a two-vehicle crash involving a sedan and an SUV near the University of Tennessee Arboretum on South Illinois Avenue on Friday afternoon, May 26, 2017, authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Authorities have identified the three adults injured and one adult killed in Friday’s two-vehicle crash near the University of Tennessee Arboretum on South Illinois Avenue.
Killed in the crash was Ashley Blalock, 30, of Knoxville. She was a passenger in a sedan driven by Tabitha Douglas, 26, of Corryton, who was injured in the crash. Also in the vehicle was a 7-year-old Corryton girl. The City of Oak Ridge said the Oak Ridge Police Department will not release the name of the juvenile, who was also injured.
The other vehicle involved in the crash was a sport utility vehicle. The two people in the SUV were also injured. They were driver Celia Sparks, 78, and passenger Jeffrey Sparks, 52, both of Knoxville.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation.
The crash was reported at about 2:47 p.m. Friday at Commerce Park Drive, which is across from the Arboretum.
All of the injured victims were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. Two were taken by UT Lifestar medical helicopters and two by ambulance, the city said. The extent of their injuries and current conditions are unknown.
The city referred questions about patient conditions to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.
Crash reconstruction teams were at the crash site through Friday evening.
In the meantime, South Illinois Avenue was closed between Bethel Valley Road and Union Valley Road, and traffic had to take alternate routes, including down Edgemoor Road, and Bethel Valley Road and Scarboro Road. The Oak Ridge Police Department had estimated that the road would re-open around 9 p.m. Friday.
It was the second crash that shut down part of South Illinois on Friday. Earlier Friday, a section of the road was closed between Lafayette Drive/Scarboro Road and South Rutgers Avenue after a three-vehicle crash involving a dump truck spilled about 100 gallons of diesel fuel on the five-lane road. The road was shut down while workers cleaned up the fuel.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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