WCHS junior succumbs to car accident injuries: Lambert, 16, remains unconscious in trauma intensive care unit

By DUANE SHERRILL Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

One of the teen-age passengers in last week’s crash on Scenic Hills Road has succumbed to injuries, while the driver remains in extremely critical condition.

Front-seat passenger Candace Richardson, 16, died Monday evening at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville where she had been under treatment since being airlifted there following the 11 p.m. accident Wednesday.

Richardson was a junior at Warren County High School and had attended the school since the beginning of her sophomore year. School officials said counselors are available for students dealing with grief.

The driver, Timothy Wayne Lambert, 16, remains unconscious and in critical condition in the trauma intensive care unit at Vanderbilt. His back-seat passenger, Amber McCarty, 15, remains at Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga with serious injuries but has been upgraded to stable condition.

The teens were injured when a Chevy Malibu driven by Lambert crashed through a field, overturned and struck a building at Mountain Creek Nursery. Lambert was ejected while the girls remained trapped inside and had to be extricated. They were all airlifted from the scene for immediate treatment.

Investigators suspect excessive speed was involved, according to Highway Patrolman Monte Terry, who noted an investigation is continuing.