Thursday's Collision On I-40 In Nashville Claims The Lives Of Three Men

From the City of Nashville:

March 12, 2021

The three men killed in Thursday’s 4 p.m. collision between a landscaping truck and a tractor-trailer on I-40 East near Charlotte Pike in Bellevue are identified as front seat passenger Abraham Carranza-Martinez, 32, and both rear seat passengers Ignacio Fuenes, 18, and Adrian Ramos-Arista, 36. The driver of the truck, William Lopez-Cruz, 31, remains in critical condition at Vanderbilt Medical Center.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, Kesner Altidort, 47, had pulled off the Interstate onto the right shoulder to check on a possible mechanical problem. The 2016 Isuzu NPR, driven by Lopez-Cruz, was eastbound in the right lane of I-40 when, for reasons unknown, the truck drifted onto the right shoulder and struck the rear of the trailer.

Carranza-Martinez and Ramos-Arista died at the scene. Fuenes was transported to Vanderbilt where he died today. The driver, Lopez-Cruz, was the only one wearing a seatbelt. Toxicology testing will be conducted on Lopez-Cruz to determine if impairment played a role in this triple-fatal crash. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol responded to conduct a post-crash inspection of the tractor-trailer.

This press release was produced by the City of Nashville. The views expressed here are the author’s own.