Corbin woman admits to taking pills, meth before Tuesday accident

A Corbin woman, who had to be extricated from her pickup truck after driving it into the back of a tractor trailer Tuesday morning, has admitted to officers that she was under the influence of methamphetamine and muscle relaxers.

The wreck occurred about 8:30 a.m. on U.S. 25W near Oak Grove Elementary School.

According to Kentucky State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Public Affairs Officer Steven Douglas, the driver of the pickup, Garra Harp, 18, of Corbin, lost control and struck the back of the semi-trailer.

"She was sliding sideways when she hit the truck," Douglas said.

Harp was taken to Baptist Regional Medical Center for treatment of head injuries including a laceration to her head.

Douglas said she has since been released from the hospital and was cited to appear in Whitley District Court on charges of driving under the influence of drugs, reckless driving and failure to produce an insurance card.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, David Shacklett, 54, of Smyrna, Tenn., said he was unaware the pickup was behind him until it hit his truck. His truck, which belongs to Tennessee Steel Haulers, based in Nashville, Tenn.,suffered minimal damage to the trailer.

Commercial Vehicle Enforcement was called because the wreck involved a tractor-trailer truck.

Traffic was reduced to one lane while emergency personnel worked to clear the scene.

The Oak Grove Fire Department, Whitley County Sheriff’s deputies and Whitley County EMS responded to the scene.