Man injured in log truck crash in KY 26; alcohol suspect as a factor

Alcohol is suspected to be a factor in a wreck involving a log truck that resulted in one person being flow to the University of Tennessee Medical Center Monday night.

Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy Shawn Jackson said the driver of the truck, Daniel Carr of Williamsburg was travelling south on Ky. 26 between Woodbine and Rockholds when he lost control of his truck and ran off the road. The truck did not flip over, but when it struck a rise in the ground, the front wheels and axel was torn from the vehicle.

Jackson said minutes before the crash, Whitley County 911 had received several calls about a reckless driver headed south on Ky. 26.

“The callers identified the vehicle as a log truck,” Jackson said, noting the truck reportedly crossed the centerline multiple times and demolished at least one mailbox.

Rockholds firefighters established a landing zone at Whitley North Elementary for the Air Evac helicopter to use. Whitley EMS transported Carr from the scene to Whitley North.

Jackson said the circumstances with Carr being unable to perform a field sobriety test and being taken out of state for medical care prohibited him from collecting the necessary evidence to prove whether Carr was legally intoxicated at the time. As a result, no criminal charges will be filed.

Jackson said the truck was not carrying a load of logs at the time of the crash. It had a farm license plate as opposed to a commercial license plate, meaning it was not owned by logging company.

One resident near the scene of the crash, noted vehicles regularly speed through the area north of Whitley North Elementary because that stretch of road is fairly straight.

“They just fly down this road,” the resident said, declining to give his name. “We see a wreck almost every day.”