New warnings after Cleveland teen killed in logging truck crash

North Lee Highway fatality inspires safety measures

Traffic passes through the intersection of North Lee Highway and Tasso Lane in Cleveland, Tenn. The intersection, which was the site of a fatal accident involving a commercial vehicle in May, is on track to receive solar-powered flashing warning signs and other safety improvements.
Traffic passes through the intersection of North Lee Highway and Tasso Lane in Cleveland, Tenn. The intersection, which was the site of a fatal accident involving a commercial vehicle in May, is on track to receive solar-powered flashing warning signs and other safety improvements.

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - A car-truck collision at the intersection of Tasso Lane and North Lee Highway that left a teenager dead has led to safety improvements by the city of Cleveland and the Bradley County Sheriff's Office.

In May, 17-year-old Ashlyn Lamberth, a Bradley Central High School honors graduate, died when her vehicle was struck by a logging truck driven by Cody Judd. Judd did not have a commercial driver's license, according to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.

The Cleveland City Council recently voted 7-0 to approve several safety upgrades at the Tasso Lane intersection, including the solar-powered warning signs and reflective backplates for the traffic signal. The cost is $9,100.

"Right now we don't have any advance warning signs whatsoever, including the intersection at Tasso [Lane]," David Sheely, of the city's development and engineering services department, told Cleveland leaders.

The flashing advance warning signs are "pretty typical" for the first intersection drivers encounter when they enter a town, Sheely said. The Tasso Lane intersection is the first Cleveland signal encountered by southbound U.S. Highway 11 traffic.

He said reflective backplates are becoming more common since studies that showed they helped reduce crashes.

The council also decided to set a 45 mph speed limit on North Lee Highway all the way to the city line north of the Anatole subdivision. Now a 1,000-foot stretch of the road has a 55 mph limit.

Councilman Bill Estes questioned the scope of a Tennessee Department of Transportation study that said a slightly higher speed would be allowable on Highway 11 between the city limits and a half mile south of the Tasso Lane intersection.

The area of study appeared to be a "very limited window," said Estes, citing accidents that occurred farther south along the highway.

Separately, Bradley County Sheriff Eric Watson recently announced the creation of a Public Safety Unit, a specialized department composed of 13 deputies that will have commercial vehicle enforcement among its responsibilities.

Watson said in a statement that deputies will "pursue public safety through the reduction of commercial vehicle collisions and criminal activity" by using innovative and effective strategies based on statistical data and identified problems in the commercial vehicle industry.

Anthony and Princess Lamberth, the parents of the teenage crash victim, were present at the Public Safety Unit kickoff event and endorsed its creation, said Ed Ramsey, spokesman for the sheriff's office.

Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.

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