Lauren Walker’s Volkswagen convertible and
Mitch Maynard’s S-10 pickup landed side by
side in the gapping crater following the
collapse. (Photo courtesy of Chris Cook).
Two motorists found themselves in a
precarious situation early Saturday morning
when a culvert collapsed on Carroll Lake
Road, following a heavy deluge of rain, and
their vehicles plunged 10 to 12 feet into
the rushing waters below – a product of
nearly four inches of rainfall.
Bethel College student Mitch Maynard
remained hospitalized in the trauma unit at
Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville Monday
after receiving serious injuries when his
vehicle plunged into a gapping hole in the
roadway.
Lauren Aljancic Walker of McKenzie, whose
vehicle was the first to encounter the
washout, was released from McKenzie Regional
Emergency Room following several hours of
observation and tests.
Carroll County District 2 Road Supervisor
Dennis Parker said the large culvert
collapsed on one end, causing a 20- to
30-feet wide wash out in the roadway. The
collapse likely occurred sometime between
12:30 and 1:00 a.m. he said.
Two vehicles plunged from the roadway after
a 20- to 30-feet wide collapse occurred on
Carroll Lake Road early Saturday morning.
(Photo by Joel Washburn)
“The rain came so fast, it just got more
water than it would handle and started
washing out around the culvert,” said
Parker.
The rushing water created a huge, gapping
hole in the roadway and washed the culvert
15 to 20 feet toward Carroll Lake.
Mrs. Walker, wife of Todd Walker and
daughter of Tom and Debbie Aljancic, stated
she feared for her life after her Volkswagen
convertible plunged into the washout and she
was swept away in the rushing waters.
“I thought I was going to die,” she said,
adding, “I thought I was going to drown.”
Lauren stated she was driving along and the
roadway was fine until she suddenly ran out
of roadway. She said water quickly filled
the car and she remembers floating out the
passenger window, which was the only window
in the vehicle that had been broken out
during the crash.
She credits Lance Warren of McKenzie, who
came along after both vehicles plunged into
the gully, with saving her life.
Lauren said the raging water carried her
approximately 50 yards from the roadway
toward Carroll Lake, pulling her underneath
the water several times.
“I was trying to grab at limbs and
branches,” she said. “As soon as I would
grab one, I would hear it snap and break.
There was no attempting to swim, the water
was crashing all about me and it was too
forceful. Eventually, the current pushed me
into a stump. I hung on for dear life and
was able to pull myself up on it. I was
there for about 30 minutes, screaming for
someone to help me. The water was about
chest high.
“The next thing I saw was a car light. Lance
saw the two cars and could hear me
screaming. He walked the bank looking for
me.
Following the sound of Lauren’s scream,
Lance located her and pulled her from the
water.
Back at the site of the washout, she
remembers seeing Mitch on the opposite side
of the road, curled up in a ball on the
pavement.
Mitch was transported by ambulance to
McKenzie Regional and later transferred to
the Nashville hospital with four fractured
ribs, a collapsed lung and lacerations that
required sutures in his knees and elbow.
He stated he was traveling along the roadway
in his Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck, when he
suddenly dropped off the roadway and landed
in the water below. He remembered the water
came up in the cab of the truck. However, he
was able to climb through the cab window and
somehow made it back up to the roadway.
The next thing he remembers is being in the
ambulance that transported him to the local
hospital.
Mitch is attending Bethel College on a
football scholarship and will be a senior
next year, he said.
Lauren said the realization of the near
death experience placed her in shock. She
remembers being at the scene of the accident
and the next thing she knew she was in the
emergency room. She sustained multiple
bruises and abrasions, but was not seriously
injured.
“The water was the scariest part,” she said.
“If he (Lance) had not come down there, I
could have washed away. I thank God.”
Don Cook of D & D Wrecker Service was called
to the scene around 2:00 a.m. Saturday. He
and son, Chris drove Class B and D wreckers
to the scene per the request of Trooper
Michael Sullivan of the Tennessee Highway
Patrol.
Their departure was delayed because of an
area-wide power outage in Henry County which
included the D & D Service Center shop. Don
and Chris had to manually open the overhead
doors to remove the wreckers.
Mr. Cook said both the Volkswagen and S-10
pickup were side by side in the washed out
area. Both had to be lifted straight up out
of the washout. A diver was in the rapidly
flowing water and assisted with the hookup
of the cars, said Don. The edges of the
roadway were undermined and very unstable.
The wreckers returned to the station at 6:45
a.m., he said.
Carroll County Highway employees were on the
scene of the collapse Monday to set a new
culvert and fill in the area with rock. The
department hoped to have the roadway open to
traffic sometime that day. Parker estimated
the cost of repair at $10,000. Telephone and
cable lines were also broken during the
collapse, he noted.
Parker said there had been no previous
problems at the washout site during his
tenure as road supervisor. The roadway
remained closed Saturday through Monday. |
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