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KPD: Charges pending after 1 dead, 1 injured in wreck on I-40 East

The car accident happened on I-40 Eastbound just short of the Walker Springs exit.

One person is dead after a car crashed into a guardrail on I-40 Eastbound near West Knoxville Saturday evening, according to a KPD official on site.

It happened around 8 p.m. in the eastbound lanes between the Cedar Bluff road and Bridgewater exits.

Police said 23-year-old Tanner Wellman, a passenger in a Nissan Altima driven by 18-year-old Kameron Garrett, died in the wreck at the scene.

An official with the Knoxville Police Department said Garrett was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center with what appeared to be serious injuries. KPD said charges are pending for Garrett pending the conclusion of the investigation.

Multiple agencies responded to the wreck, which backed up traffic into the late evening - including the Knox County Sheriff's Office, Knoxville Fire Department, and TDOT's highway incident patrol.

KPD said the Altima went off the road on I-40 East and hit a guardrail on the right shoulder of the interstate head-on while traveling at a high rate of speed.

Prior to the crash, KPD said the Altima had been involved in a separate incident on I-40 East near Pellissippi Parkway where it had crossed into the right lane and hit a Toyota Solara, causing minor damage. The driver of the Solara was not hurt and the Altima drove off before eventually hitting the guardrail.

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