A deaf 25-year-old Nashville man died after running into a dangling tree that neighbors reported weeks beforehand. The man got off of work at approximately 3:30 a.m. on a Friday morning and ran into the tree while driving his scooter on the unlit street. Family members said that the man's scooter lights were not very bright and he probably did not see the tree until it was too late.
Authorities allege that the man was thrown off of his scooter and was flung into a live dangling power line. The man's large family was grieving his wrongful death and neighbors are wondering why more was not done to deal with the tree earlier.
One woman who lives near the accident scene describes the dangling tree as "really bad" and said that she was worried about someone getting hurt. Concerned, the woman called Metro Public Works.
"I called them about 4 weeks ago, when we had them storms, and told them that a limb was down and the only thing that was holding it up was a wire," she said.
The limb was completely severed from the tree but being held up by a power line. The neighbor said that she was worried that the tree would come crashing down on a car's windshield, but said that she never imagined someone would get electrocuted.
Authorities said that the tree was on an AT&T line, but AT&T said that because the line was on private property, it was the homeowner's responsibility to remove the tree. Regardless of who was responsible for the tree removal, two things are clear: the tree caused an accident and this accident could have been prevented.
The 25-year-old was wearing helmet but still suffered significant head trauma. When the man's mother was asked what she would miss most about her son she simply replied, "him."
Source: News Channel 5, "Neighbors Ask If Deadly Crash Could Have Been Prevented," 5/13/11