Tennessee Accident: Student's Car Damaged, Insurance Denial
Nov 26, 2024 at 11:47 PM
Katie Smith, a student at MTSU, worked for years at just nine dollars an hour. Her hard work finally paid off when she bought a 2015 Hyundai Sedan in cash for $7,000. However, her vehicle is now undriveable due to damage to the wheel well. Standing beside her car, she showed off the torn front, with the inner workings of the headlight exposed. The cause of the damage was an accident on Oct. 12 at the intersection of Franklin Road and Blaze Road in Murfreesboro. According to the crash report investigated by a THP trooper, Rutherford County deputy Trey Calson had his emergency lights on and crossed three lanes of traffic, causing Smith to crash into him. Smith saw the deputy's lights as he sat idle in the middle turn lane and thought she was doing the right thing by passing beside him along with other drivers. Her boyfriend, Mason Nolan, was also in the vehicle and said as they moved forward, the deputy didn't turn on his siren and crossed three lanes of traffic. It all happened very quickly.After the crash, Smith wasn't worried at first as she wasn't given a citation. But when she read the THP crash report, she was shocked to see that under the "driver actions" portion, Calson was cited for improperly changing lanes. On Oct. 25, she received a denial letter from CCMSI, the insurance company for the Rutherford County government. The company wrote that their completed investigation determined there was no negligence found on the Rutherford County Sheriff's department and that in the absence of "any independent witness" or other conclusive evidence, there would be no payout to Smith. In an additional voicemail, the adjuster cited reviewing dash cam video with the county's insurance and risk management department in the decision to deny liability.With her vehicle now undrivable and having taken two years to save up for the Hyundai, Smith can't afford to buy another car. WSMV4 Investigates has been working on this story. Starting Monday night, they called and emailed the claims adjuster, his supervisor, the Rutherford County attorney, the Rutherford County insurance and risk management division, and the Rutherford County sheriff's department, but none responded by the deadline. WSMV4 Investigates did speak to Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr, who said he would look into it and get back to them. They have now filed an open records request to obtain the dash cam video from the accident and will follow up as soon as it is obtained.If you have any information or want to share something about this story, email Jeremy.finley@wsmv.com. Copyright 2024 WSMV. All rights reserved.
