MOUNT CARMEL — A mother and her two small children were injured Monday afternoon after a pickup crossed the center line in the 800 block of Hammond Avenue and hit the woman’s van head-on shortly after she had picked up her older child from school.
Mount Carmel Police Department Officer Bobby Moffitt said the crash was the 11th accident that has occurred on that same section of Hammond Avenue.
Jaclyn Gilliam, 33, Old Hickory Road, Mount Carmel, was driving a 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan northbound on Hammond Avenue at about 3:30 p.m. Monday carrying a one-year-old child and a five-year-old child she’d just picked up from Mount Carmel Elementary School.
At that same time Justin Dilland Sensabaugh, 18, 205 Jones Road Church Hill, was driving a 1986 Ford F-150 south on Hammond Avenue.
The two vehicles met near 820 Hammond Avenue.
“When it’s wet it’s real slick coming around that curve,” Moffitt said. “He (Sensabaugh) said his truck was acting up, going into neutral. He gave it some gas to accelerate to force the truck back in gear. When he did he was exceeding the speed limit and crossed the center line, striking the van.”
Moffitt said the point of impact was in Gilliam’s lane. Gilliam had actually run off the road to try to avoid being struck by the truck, Moffitt added.
Both of Gilliam’s children were properly restrained, and both children suffered minor injuries. Gilliam suffered a neck injury and bruising caused by her seatbelt and airbag.
The three were transported to Holston Valley Medical Center, where they were treated and released.
Sensabaugh, who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, refused transport, but he sustained a broken nose, a laceration across his nose and a black eye.
Sensabaugh was cited for failure to maintain control, driving left of center, failure to exercise due care, and failure to show proof of insurance.
Moffitt said that section of Hammond Avenue is especially dangerous if drivers exceed the speed limit.
“Traveling southbound, the road has a right-hand pitch, and a lot of oil gets on the road in that area for some reason,” Moffitt said. “Therefore it tends to be slick in that area, especially when it rains. But, if people would use the proper driving techniques when the road is wet they shouldn’t have a problem.
“This gentleman was exceeding the speed limit, and that’s the reason he lost control of his vehicle.”
Mount Carmel Mayor Larry Frost said Tuesday the city plans to install an epoxy base non-skid surface on that section of Hammond Avenue in hopes of preventing similar accidents.
“That’s a dangerous situation,” Frost said. “Evidently the curve is elevated wrong.”