Wreck claims teen?s life: High school student killed in head-on crash

Katy McKelvey died at the scene of the Tuesday afternoon crash on Short Mountain Road where her vehicle hit an oncoming car head-on. Lawmen suspect the teen?s seat broke, throwing her from the driver?s compartment, causing the fatal injuries.

The victim, Katy Michelle McKelvey, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene from injuries investigators say she sustained when the impact of the head-on collision broke the driver?s seat of her 1994 Nissan Maxima, throwing her into the rear area of her car as her vehicle rolled. She was wearing a seatbelt.

The surviving victim, George Wright, 66, who lives nearby on Short Mountain Road, was airlifted from the scene by LifeForce helicopter and is listed in critical condition at Erlanger Medical Center. Wright had to be extricated from the wreckage of his 2001 Ford Taurus with paramedics removing the roof to free him.

According to highway patrol reports, the accident happened as McKelvey was rounding a curve on Short Mountain Road. Investigators believe the teen strayed over the center line and entered the path of Wright, with both cars hitting head-on with no time for braking. The McKelvey vehicle then overturned and came to rest in a ditch while Wright?s vehicle came to rest in the opposite ditch. Lawmen do not know why the teen crossed the center line. They found no evidence of alcohol, drugs or excessive speed.

The crash was the second serious wreck on Short Mountain Road in two days as a family of three was injured less than two miles away Monday when their car ran off the road and overturned, ejecting a 4-year-old boy.