Chattanooga police say two men died Monday at the scene of an early morning crash in Hixson.
A 1988 Ford Ranger pickup truck carrying the men crossed the center line at 905 Ely Road at 7:10 a.m. and struck a 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer head on, according to a Chattanooga Police Department news release.
Steve Roper, 34, of Dayton Boulevard, and Michael Haggard, 26, of Moses Road in Hixson, were pronounced dead on the scene, police said. Neither man was wearing a seat belt.
Stephen Welch and his wife Sarah, both Carey Lane residents, were in the SUV. They were taken to a local hospital with various nonlife-threatening injuries, emergency workers said.
Mr. and Mrs. Welch were wearing seat belts, police said.
Chattanooga police spokeswoman Officer Rebecca Royval was to the point when asked about seeing dozens of similar crashes.
“Wear your seat belt,” she said. “You have to think about what’s more important — having a wrinkle in your suit or surviving the crash. And it’s a law, so if you don’t wear it, you can get pulled over.”
No charges are pending because the driver who caused the crash died, but tests will be administered with both autopsies, according to Officer Royval.
“There was no evidence that alcohol was a factor, but they’ll do toxicology to check for drugs or alcohol that maybe wasn’t in the car,” she said.
Because Mr. and Mrs. Welch were not at fault, investigators will not draw blood from them, Officer Royval said.
Mr. Roper and Mr. Haggard are the 10th and 11th traffic fatalities in 2010. And at this time in 2009, Chattanooga had recorded 12 fatalities, police said.
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