Two McCreary men die in separate pedestrian accidents

By Greg Bird
birdman@tmcvoice.com

In a little more than 24-hours two McCreary County men were struck and killed by passing vehicles in incidents just miles apart over the weekend.
The first incident occurred Saturday night just past nightfall, at the intersection of U.S. 27 and Bud Ross Lane – just south of the state line in Winfield.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol reports William C. Thomas, 21, of Parkers Lake was struck and killed while walking by two vehicles, both of which fled the scene.
Trooper Joshua Kennedy, who is conducting the investigation, states in his report that Thomas was apparently walking in the middle of U.S. 27 when he was struck by a vehicle, and again by a second vehicle shortly thereafter.
A witness described the second vehicle to strike Thomas as a Jeep Wrangler outfitted with a lift kit. No information was reported about the first vehicle.
Alcohol is suspected as being a factor in the incident.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol is asking anyone with information concerning either of the two vehicles involved in the accident to contact them at 865-544-3380 or dialing *THP on their mobile device.

Traffic on U.S. 27 was closed for several hours following the accident for reconstruction.
Just one night later a second pedestrian-related fatality was reported, less than five miles from where the previous one occurred – near the intersection of U.S. 27 and Kentucky 92 in Pine Knot.
Kentucky State Police Trooper Harrison Wells determined Adam Slaven, 43, of Pine Knot, was walking southbound on U.S. 27 in the middle of the roadway around 10:40 p.m. when he was struck by a southbound 2009 Lexus, driven by Anthony Buttram, 55, of Oneida. The impact threw Slaven in to the northbound lane, where he was struck by three other vehicles.

Slaven was pronounced dead at the scene by the McCreary County Coroner’s Office. Trooper Wells is conducting an investigation and was assisted at the scene by the Pine Knot Fire Department and McCreary County EMS.