By Shelly Kirchner, Correspondent

A pedestrian was struck and killed on U.S. Highway 27 in Rhea County early Tuesday morning.

Chester Riley Wooten, 61, was killed instantly when struck by a vehicle driven by a 23-year-old Roane County man, police said.

The emergency call came in at 5:17 a.m., police said.

"It is a poorly lit area of the highway and Mr. Wooten had on dark clothing," said Dayton Police Department Traffic Investigator Dean Smith. "The driver and passengers in the car never saw him."

There are no charges against the driver, according to police, although he was fined for driving with no insurance.

According to the report, the driver and two passengers were traveling south on Highway 27 in Dayton, Tenn., and were near the Scottish Inn when they felt as if they had hit a deer.

"They pulled the car to the side of the road searching the area in the dark," Mr. Smith explained. "They found a shoe and immediately went into Fuller's Market and the clerk called 911."

Mr. Wooten apparently was crossing the highway from the Scottish Inn side, possibly to reach Fuller's Market, when he was hit, the report stated.

He had been staying at the Scottish Inn for about two months, according to the motel manager, and often drank coffee in the motel lobby in the early morning.

Shelly Kirshner is based in Spring City. Contact her at skirshner@bellsouth.net.