A violent collision on a Tennessee highway claimed the lives of a mother and her two sons.
Around 3:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, May 31, a tragic collision involving five automobiles occurred on Interstate 40 West and North Hollywood, according to a statement from the Memphis Police Department.
According to officials, a chain reaction crash occurred when the first car collided with the back of the second car while it was heading west on I-40.
According to authorities, a fourth person was taken to St. Francis Bartlett in non-critical condition after three others were declared deceased at the site.
The nonprofit organization Youth Villages has confirmed that Tonya Cannady, one of its employees, and her two sons, Scott and Barry, perished in the collision.
“Ms. Cannady was a wonderful part of our organization, celebrating 22 years with Youth Villages this year,” the nonprofit’s statement read. “She touched the lives of thousands over that time, including children and staff, most recently serving as our nutrition services manager for our West Tennessee residential locations.”
The organization continued, “Our hearts go out to her family during this time. She will be missed by so many of us.”
Following the collision, the Memphis Police Department posted on X that all lanes of traffic on I-40 and North Hollywood were stopped for many hours on Saturday.
He pulled over to assist a woman in breaking the glass of a Jeep Grand Cherokee that was involved in the collision, according to an Army reservist who saw the event.
As the automobiles “went up in flames,” he claimed to have been able to “pull the driver out and unbuckle the passenger.” He “tried to use that to put the fire out,” but to no avail, when another onlooker brought him a fire extinguisher.
Another witness, Franchesca Roland, said that following the collision, she and other people hurried to Cannady’s aid. She clarified, “We started doing CPR on the passenger we did get out.”
