Nashville Police Step Up Patrols On Deadly Antioch Road

ANTIOCH, TN — A stretch of Murfreesboro Road near Antioch High School has long been known for speeding cars and after a fiery crash in January killed two people and saw a teenage driver charged with vehicular homicide, Metro Police are stepping up patrols in the area.

There were nine serious wrecks in the two mile stretch of Murfreesboro Pike between Hamilton Church Road and Old Hickory Boulevard, it's a long and hilly straightaway notorious for speeding. In late January, Metro Police say a 16-year-old was speeding towards Antioch High School in a Nissan 350z when an SUV pulled out from a nearby apartment complex. In an effort to avoid hitting the SUV, the driver of the Nissan swerved into oncoming traffic, hitting a Chevrolet Camaro and a Toyota Corolla. The driver of the Corolla and a passenger in the Nissan were killed and the driver of the Nissan is charged with vehicular homicide.

While the South Precinct had already increased patrols in the area before the deadly accident, the broader Metro-wide Traffic Division, through an overtime initiative, is adding even more police presence to the area. For more traffic and police updates and other Antioch & South Nashville news, click here to subscribe to the Antioch & South Nashville Patch, or find your local Middle Tennessee Patch here.

In the first three weeks of February, officers issued 75 tickets, 39 warnings, 18 citations, five misdemeanor citations and made five arrests as part of the program.

Traffic Division Sgt. Mark Denton told WKRN that officers report the increased visibility is working, as speeding citations — and drivers — have slowed down.

“The officers have said they’ve noticed a decline in speeding, which is good,” he said. “That’s what we’re out there to do. We’re out there to get people to do the speed limit.”

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