(Last Updated On: January 21, 2020)

LEBANON, TN – One person was killed in a semi truck accident on Interstate 40 in Lebanon, Tennessee on Friday, October 1, 2010.

Lebanon is in Wilson County, Tennessee in the north-central part of the state, about 13 miles northwest of Watertown and about 31 miles east of Nashville.

The fatal accident happened around 3:30 p.m. in the afternoon on the eastbound side of I-40 near mile marker 240. According to reports, a brush fire off to the side of the road may have contributed to the crash.

Traffic began to slow down in the right lanes to avoid the brush fire and was merging into the fast lane.

A tractor trailer truck came up too fast and rear ended a Ford F-150 pickup, pushing it into the median. The 18 wheeler kept going and rear ended a Buick LaCrosse, then veered into the median another 600 feet where it finally came to a stop.

The man who was killed was the driver of the Ford pickup truck. He was identified as John Brown, 54 years old from Brentwood, TN. Brown was airlifted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he died from his injuries the next day on Saturday.

The semi truck driver and the driver of the Buick LaCrosse were also injured in the accident and were taken by Emergency Medical Service ambulance to University Medical Center in Lebanon. The big rig driver was identified as 62 year-old Donnie Webb, from Horn Lake, Mississippi and the driver of the Buick LaCrosse was identified as 57 year-old David F. Rutherford, from Hendersonville, TN.

According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), all of the drivers involved in the accident were wearing seatbelts. A fourth car was also involved in the crash but, according to reports, no one from that vehicle was injured.

After the accident, all traffic on the eastbound side of I-40 was shut down and all but one lane of westbound traffic was closed down near the exit at mile marker 239.


Published by Atlanta truck accident lawyer Fried Goldberg LLC, expert nationwide truck accident attorneys specializing in commercial truck injury law across the United States. For more information about Tennessee trucking laws, truck injury causes and victims rights, talk to an expert truck attorney for a free initial consultation at 1.877.591.1801.

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