21-year-old contract worker killed when truck overturns in Soddy-Daisy highway work zone

Accident tile
Accident tile

Tennessee Highway Patrol officials say an employee working for a contractor at a state project on State Route 111 was killed Thursday morning when a southbound semitractor-trailer loaded with coal overturned in a work area near the Hamilton-Sequatchie county line.

The big rig flipped onto its side, hitting Christopher Harden, 21, of Rossville, Georgia, who was standing in the construction zone, THP spokesman Sgt. Alan Bailey said Thursday via email.

The tractor-trailer was driven by 33-year-old Jason Canada, of Albany, Kentucky. Canada was taken to Erlanger hospital by ambulance, Bailey said.

The truck is owned by Double Dee Trucking out of Albany, he said.

The deadly crash closed the southbound lanes, forcing traffic to be routed onto Lewis Chapel Road while the accident was investigated and the crash scene cleared, Tennessee Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer Flynn said.

Flynn confirmed that the victim was not a TDOT employee but was working for a contractor operating on a TDOT project. She was unable to immediately provide the name of the company.

According to TDOT records, the resurfacing project on Highway 111's southbound side extends from U.S. Highway 27 to Jones Gap Road.

Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.

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