Smithville Review/Reed Vanderpool

A two-vehicle crash on Highway 56 South resulted in injuries to three people Saturday. According to Trooper Bobby Johnson of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, 22-year-old Michael Quinton McKinley of McMinnville was traveling north near Evins Mill Nursery in a 1997 Ford F150 when he left the roadway on the right side and overcorrected, causing the truck to cross the center line and crash into a southbound 1977 Ford pickup, driven by 43-year-old Timmy Hendrixson of Smithville. Hendrixson was ejected during the collision, while McKinley had to be removed from his vehicle by members of the DeKalb County Fire Department Extrication Team. Both men, as well as a 17-year-old McMinnville boy who was McKinley’s passenger, were seriously injured in the crash. The trooper said DeKalb EMS took Hendrixson to Cookeville Regional Medical Center. McKinley was transported by ground to Vanderbilt Medical Center after the pilot who had been called to airlift him fell and injured himself in the parking lot of DeKalb Community Hospital. The juvenile was transported by DeKalb EMS to the Smithville Municipal Airport where he was airlifted to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga. The DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department, members of the sheriff’s department were at the scene, and Sergeant Eric McCormick and Sergeant Jimmy Jones assisted Johnson with the crash investigation. Johnson said charges are pending against McKinley.