April 4, 2022
By: Dwayne Page
A pedestrian was airlifted Sunday night after being struck by a motorist in the 1000 block of Short Mountain Highway.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, 24-year-old Carlos Alejandro Rueda Dehza of Smithville was walking in the right lane of the roadway when he was hit by a southbound 2018 Kia Optima, driven by 28-year-old Jody Lattimore of Smithville. After impact, Lattimore’s vehicle came to a final rest in the roadway facing north and Lattimore notified emergency responders. The pedestrian was tended to by emergency personnel before being transported by Air Evacuation.
Lattimore, a county firefighter, was reportedly responding non-emergency in his private vehicle to a landing zone in the Blue Springs community at the time of the accident.