A 40-year-old man was killed after being ejected from a car in a single-vehicle crash on Dutch Valley Road in Anderson County on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.
Winston T. Nelson, of Clinton, was driving east in a 1992 Mazda Miata convertible on Dutch Valley Road near Smith Road when he failed to maintain his lane, according to information from the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Anderson County Sheriff’s Department.
Nelson swerved to avoid a collision with a westbound vehicle when he lost control of his car, went off the left shoulder of the road, and struck an embankment and then an AT&T phone box, the THP said in a fatality report. After hitting the phone box, the Mazda Miata spun and collided with a tree, the THP said. That impact caused the car to keep spinning until it stopped off the roadway on the left shoulder, according to the report.
But before it finally stopped, Nelson, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected out of the top of the car, the THP said.
Safety restraints would have made a difference, the report said.
Neither drinking nor drugs are suspected in the crash, but tests have been requested, which is routine in fatal crashes.
The crash, which was reported at about 2:50 p.m. Sunday, was investigated by THP Trooper Joshua Kennedy.
Besides the THP, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Anderson County EMS, and Marlow Volunteer Fire Department also responded.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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