Katrina Napier was killed Friday night when she was ejected from a pickup truck on U.S. 25E in Gray.
Kentucky State Police Trooper Jason Bunch said Napier, 28, of Barbourville and James Smith, 43, of Artemus, were returning to Barbourville about 11:40 p.m. when the Ford F250 crew cab pickup truck sideswiped two vehicles, went off the southbound roadway, crossed the median and the northbound lanes and struck an embankment near the intersection of 25E and Hazel Fork Road.
"We retrieved the crash data from the pickup, which showed it rolled at least twice," Bunch said.
Napier was pronounced dead at the scene. Smith was taken to Baptist Regional Medical Center and then airlifted to the University of Kentucky Medical Center where he is in stable condition.
Bunch said the couple had left O’M alleys #2 in Corbin. Law enforcement spoke to several individuals at O’Malleys, including the employees who were working that night.
"The people at O’Malleys were very cooperative," Bunch said. "We interviewed two people who remembered seeing them Friday night, but no one could say how much they may have had to drink."
Bunch said traffic on northbound U.S. 25E was halted for more than two hours as emergency personnel worked to clear the scene.
State police were assisted at the scene by Knox County Sheriff’s deputies, Knox EMS and the West Knox Fire Department.
