Adults identified in crash that killed 3-year-old; cause not determined yet

 

Note: This story was updated at 4 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified the adults injured in a fatal two-vehicle crash on Friday evening, although the cause hasn’t been determined yet.

The crash killed a three-year-old boy. It was reported at about 5:20 p.m. Friday at Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive in central Oak Ridge. It involved a total of 11 people, including three juveniles.

Besides the three-year-old who died, five other people who were in an SUV that ended up near a stoplight pole on the northeast corner of the intersection were injured and taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. The five injured included four adults and one child. One of the adults was released from the hospital over the weekend, the City of Oak Ridge said.

The names of the juveniles involved in the crash are not being released, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. The occupants of the SUV were:

• Ashley Braden, age 21, of Clinton (injured)
• Jason Braden II, age 23, of Clinton (injured)
• Joshua Selvidge, age 26, of Knox County (injured)
• Dustin Sheehy, age 28, of Oak Ridge (injured)
• juvenile victim (injured)
• juvenile victim, age 3 (killed)

The second vehicle involved in the crash, a Volkwagen sedan, was occupied by five people (four adults and one juvenile). None of those occupants were injured. Their names are:

• Xiaoping Wu, age 58, of Oak Ridge (not injured)
• Haitao Yang, age 38, of Oak Ridge (not injured)
• Haimin Yao, age 59, of Oak Ridge (not injured)
• Lan Yao, age 34, of Oak Ridge (not injured)
• juvenile (not injured)

This is an open investigation, the city said. The accident reconstruction team is continuing to examine evidence, witness statements, and other details of the crash to determine a possible cause.

“No additional information will be released at this time,” the press release said.

It’s not clear yet what caused the crash or who was driving the two vehicles. It’s also not clear if all 11 people involved were wearing seat belts or in car seats, or whether there will be any citations or charges.

The precise directions of travel of the SUV and VW sedan also haven’t been released, although on Friday night, the SUV, which was heavily damaged, appeared to have been going north on Lafayette Drive at the time of the crash. It wasn’t clear if the Volkswagen, which appeared to have less damage, was going south on Lafayette Drive or turning left from the southbound lanes onto eastbound Emory Valley Road, but the VW was angled in the direction of Emory Valley Road.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

See previous story here.