ELDERLY COUPLE KILLED: Haston vehicle pulls into path of oncoming car

By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

John A. and Anna Lou Haston were killed after their white Oldsmobile pulled into the path of oncoming traffic on Highway 70 near Campaign. (Amy Satterwhite photo)

An elderly couple died shortly after impact Wednesday when the car they were traveling in was struck from the side on Highway 70 near Campaign.

John A. Haston, 75, apparently pulled into the path of east-bound traffic on Highway 70. His wife, Anna Lou Haston, 72, was a passenger in a white 1993 Oldsmobile, according to Tennessee Highway Patrol officer Bruce Pryor, who said the Rock Island-area couple died at the scene.

Pryor said Haston entered the highway from Victor J. Young road when a gray Ford Taurus driven by Emilio C. Olmos, 48, hit them in the side. Olmos and an unidentified passenger were airlifted to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, while another passenger, Esterban C. Hernandez, was treated at River Park Hospital, Pryor said.

According to the preliminary investigation, it appears Haston’s sight may have been impeded by a tractor trailer which had turned onto Victor J. Young Road from Highway 70.

“They pulled out from Victor J. Young Road onto Highway 70 into the path of the Ford Taurus, which was traveling east in the left-hand lane,” Pryor said. “Basically, it just pulled out in front of them and the Ford Taurus just T-boned the white car.

Highway 70 was closed to west-bound traffic for about a half-hour after the 12:30 p.m. accident since the Ford ended up in those lanes. The Haston vehicle ended up in the median.

Pryor said yesterday the accident was still under investigation but added there did not appear to be any evidence of alcohol.