I-440 Chain Reaction Crash Kills Toddler, Injures 3 Others

NASHVILLE, TN — A 2-year-old boy from Lebanon was killed and at least three other people were taken to the hospital after a four-vehicle chain-reaction crash on Interstate 440 Monday morning. Officials say the child suffered severe brain injuries.

Metro Police say a 2008 Mercury Mariner, 2006 Nissan Frontier and a 2010 Cadillac SRX were stopped in traffic when the Mariner was hit from behind by a dump truck. The Mariner hit the Frontier which then hit the Cadillac.

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The 2-year-old, Logan Pederson, was in the rear seat of the Mercury. He and his parents, Robert and Samantha Hudson, were taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The Hudson have non-life-threatening injuries.

The 67-year-old driver of the Nissan was taken to St. Thomas Midtown with non-life threatening injuries.

The dump truck driver, Shawn Gardner, 40, told police he was looking down at the time of the accident as items inside the truck had fallen to the floor. He was not hurt.

Westbound I-440 was shut down until just after noon for clean-up and investigation.

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