A Middle Tennessee man was killed last Thursday afternoon after being involved in a horrible one-vehicle crash near Hurricane Bridge in the northern part of the county.

According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, 70-year-old Phillip Smith of Cookeville was traveling north on Highway 56 (Cookeville Highway) in a 2016 Nissan Frontier when he ran off the left side of the road and drove head on into a rock bluff.

Deputies with the DeKalb Sheriff’s Department, Cookeville Highway Engine 61 with the DeKalb Fire Department and a unit with DeKalb EMS responded to the scene, along with troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Authorities say that Smith died on impact at the scene. The DeKalb Medical Examiner was called to the scene as part of the investigation. Officials say they do not know why the man drove off the roadway, but that it appears that Phillips never used his brakes in the accident.