Chain reaction: Wilson collides with tractor trailer

Troopers believe wearing a seatbelt saved the life of Amanda Wilson when she ran into a county road truck head-on Wednesday afternoon in Centertown. She was airlifted from the scene and is in critical condition at Erlanger.

The critically injured victim, Amanda Wilson, 26, was airlifted from the scene by LifeForce helicopter to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga. She suffered critical injuries in the head-on crash and had to be cut from the wreckage by rescue crews.

According to highway patrol reports, the accident happened at 3:50 p.m. on Nashville Highway close to its intersection with Pigeon Hill Road.

Troopers believe Wilson, who was traveling toward McMinnville, rounded a slight curve and veered several feet across the center line for unknown reasons, her car meeting a Warren County Road Department truck driven by Roger D. Griffin, 52, which was in the oncoming lane. The truck was towing a trailer and piece of heavy machinery and heading toward Centertown.

The Wilson vehicle impacted the truck nearly head-on with enough force to bend the frame on the heavy county truck. Griffin escaped serious injury.

The crash triggered another wreck just behind the original crash when Jeffery Daniels slowed his 2002 Chevy Tahoe to avoid running into the wreckage. He was then struck in the rear by a 1998 Nissan Altima driven by Courtney Sanders of Woodbury. Neither of the victims of the secondary wreck were seriously injured.

During the subsequent investigation, troopers found Wilson was wearing her seatbelt. Given the great amount of damage, investigators believe the seatbelt likely saved her life.