One killed in two-vehicle crash on Hwy 55 in Manchester Wednesday

The driver of a Nissan Maxima was pronounced dead on the scene of a Wednesday afternoon accident on State Route 55 near Bowling Alley Rd.

According to officials, at approximately 4:14 p.m. Wednesday, Manchester Fire and Rescue, Manchester Police Department, Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, Coffee County EMS and Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) responded to a motor vehicle accident involving a Nissan Maxima and a TDOT dump truck.

The driver of the Maxima has been identified by THP as Brittany Burnette, age 28, of Manchester. She was pronounced dead on the scene. 

According to a preliminary accident report released by THP, the dump truck was using a cut through on State Highway 55 and entered traffic to travel eastbound on Highway 55 in lane two. At this time, the Maxima, operated by Burnette, was attempting to pass a vehicle  and moved into lane two and collided with the dump truck from behind. According to the THP report, Burette was “on a cell phone” when her vehicle struck the dump truck. She was not wearing her seat belt, according to the THP report. 

The driver of the dump truck, Johnny Caldwell,  was transported to Unity Medical Center for treatment. Manchester Police shut down traffic on Highway 55 Eastbound and detoured traffic onto the Old Tullahoma Highway for a significant period of time.