Local auto lot owner dies in tragic I-75 crash Monday

A local car lot owner was killed last Monday night in a tragic accident near the 26-mile mark on I-75 near Corbin.
Larry W. Rogers, 65, of Faber, died as a result of injuries from a crash that happened at about 10:44 p.m.

According to Kentucky State Police Division of Vehicle Enforcement, Rogers was driving a green 1996 Chevrolet S-10 and was stopped in the right lane of southbound I-75 when he was struck by a 2007 Freightliner tractor-trailer driven by Donald M. Cain, 44, of Dayton, OH.

Rogers was thrown from the vehicle. The tractor-trailer that hit him careened into a rock wall near the roadway. Cain was not injured.

Authorities say they do not know for sure why Rogers’ truck was stopped in the road.

On Tuesday, Randy Bargo, Rogers’ son-in-law, said the truck simply stalled at the wrong spot on the busy highway.

"Best we could figure, he was trying to get into the emergency lane but it just stalled out on the hill," Bargo said. "It [the truck] was one he actually just got done working on not too long ago … He just dropped a new motor in it. He was coming back from Wal-Mart when it happened."

Bargo was the owner of Hillbilly Auto Mart, located on Hwy. 26 in Faber. Bargo said the car lot would be closed until after Rogers’ funeral.

"I don’t know what we will be able to do," Bargo said, referring to the future of the business and the trauma Rogers’ sudden death has had on the family. "He was good man."

Bargo said Rogers left behind a wife, four daughters, 10 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

The funeral will be held at Hart Funeral Home in Corbin but no final arrangements had been made by press time.

Whitley County Emergency Management Director Danny Moses said the accident was one of the most devastating he’s ever seen.

"It’s one of the worst damaged vehicles that I have seen in a long time. It took the bed completely off and just wadded it up," Moses said.

Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officer Greg Reams investigated the accident. He said Rogers was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. No alcohol or drug involvement is suspected as a factor in the crash.

CVE officers were assisted at the scene by the Corbin Police Department, Whitley County Coroner’s Office, Whitley County Emergency Management and Whitley County EMS.