Woman injured in wreck that creates highway traffic jam

A woman was critically injured when she was ejected from her pickup as she tried to avoid rear-ending a tractor trailer on Smithville Highway Tuesday afternoon.

The seriously injured driver, Lois Judkins, was airlifted from the scene to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga by LifeForce helicopter. She is under treatment for injuries she sustained when she was thrown from her truck after it struck an embankment. Troopers suspect her door may have come open on impact, throwing her from the rolling wreckage. Her two passengers, Frances Judkins and Frank Judkins, were treated at River Park for non-critical injuries.

Gregorio White, who was driving the tractor trailer, said he was attempting to turn into a driveway off Smithville Highway just north of Gath Baptist Church when he looked up in his rear-view and saw the northbound Judkins vehicle coming at a fast speed.

For unknown reasons, Judkins did not slow down for the turning tractor trailer, but instead tried to avoid impact at the last instant by running off the northbound shoulder, clipping just the rear-view mirror of the semi. Her vehicle then struck an embankment and went airborne, during which time the driver was ejected. The pickup she was driving sustained little damage.

The wreck left Smithville Highway closed for over half an hour, backing up Dibrell school traffic for over a mile as the crash was investigated.