The winding U.S. Highway 64 in the Ocoee Gorge of Polk County, Tenn.A 23-year-old man died in Polk County on Monday when a car he was riding in crashed on U.S. Highway 64.
According to a Tennessee Highway Patrol crash report, 20-year-old Brent Ledford was swerving down the highway in a 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier around 10:50 a.m. when he crossed the center line and hit a tractor trailer head on. Ledford was driving east. Behroz Saneie, the driver of the tractor trailer, was heading west.
Witnesses told the THP that Saneie tried to avoid the car, but he didn't have time to maneuver his hulking vehicle. Paramedics rushed Ledford, of Murphy, N.C., to Erlanger Health System with life-threatening injuries.
Blake Millsaps, 23, of Marble, N.C., who had been riding with Ledford, was also taken to the hospital. Doctors declared him dead on arrival.
According to the report, Ledford had been drinking. Charges in the crash are pending.
Update: The Tennessee Highway Patrol reports Ledford has died as well.