Crash kills Viola man – McKinley dies in high-speed collision
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The driver of the vehicle, Robert L. McKinley, 46, died at the scene. His stepson and front-seat passenger, Courtney D. Blevins, 17, was airlifted from the scene by LifeForce helicopter and remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit of Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga.
The accident happened around 9:30 p.m. Sunday on Highway 108 just outside the southern end of McMinnville city limits, according to Highway Patrolman Mike Tanner who investigated the crash.
According to Tanner?s preliminary findings, McKinley was traveling southbound, away from McMinnville, in his 2001 Mercury Sable at a high rate of speed, estimated to be somewhere around 90 mph.
He was coming out of a curve when he clipped an oncoming 1998 Buick Century driven by John Tipton, 61, who was uninjured.
While the blow was glancing, with the vehicles doing little more than bumping driver?s side mirrors, McKinley was unable to keep his vehicle on the road. He left the highway, entered a ditchline, and drove through two fences before going airborne.
Upon going airborne, the McKinley vehicle struck the trunk of a tree. The impact spun the car higher into the air where it struck a large overhanging branch, stripping it of its bark at a height of about 12 feet off the ground. The vehicle then came to rest on its wheels in the front yard of a home, with both victims trapped inside the wreckage.
Tanner said it is not known why McKinley was going so fast on the curvy highway which has 55 mph as its posted speed limit.