Brittany Childress
A Corbin woman died early Friday morning, hours after she was struck by a pickup truck while walking along KY 26 in Woodbine with her boyfriend.
Brittany Childress, 20, was pronounced dead at 4:57 a.m. Friday at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. At about 9:20 p.m. Thursday, she and her boyfriend, Bradley Powers, 21, of Williamsburg, were walking south on the side of the northbound lane when the accident happened.
According to Whitley County Sheriff Colan Harrell, 62-year-old Vernon Dye, of Woodbine, was driving south on KY 26 and was in the process of passing a couple of vehicles when he spotted the couple. He tried to avoid them. Powers jumped out of the way. Childress was unable to avoid being hit.
"He didn’t know they were there," Harrell said. "He was doing everything legally. He tried to avoid them … Really we see it as just a terrible happening. It was an accident."
Harrell said he does not believe any criminal charges will be filed against Dye. Drugs or alcohol are not suspected as factors in the crash. Likewise, Harrell said Dye did not appear to be speeding at the time.
A local EMT, Jacob Fox, came up on the accident and immediately asked for assistance. Childress was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center via an Air-Evac Lifeteam medical helicopter. Powers was taken to Baptist Regional Medical Center in Corbin as a precaution, but was not seriously injured. Harrell said Powers was not struck by the vehicle.
Childress was a graduate of Corbin High School and was employed at the McDonald’s on Cumberland Falls Hwy. She was the mother of a young daughter, Breonna Childress. Coworkers said she would often walk to work.
Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Ken Shepherd investigated the accident. He was assisted by fellow deputies Joe Prewitt and Shawn Jackson, along with members of the Woodbine Volunteer Fire Department and Whitley County EMS.
