One killed, two hurt when family on sidewalk hit by accused drunk driver, TN cops say
A family standing on a downtown Nashville sidewalk was run down by a suspected drunk driver, killing one man and putting two in the hospital, according to Tennessee police.
It happened around 12 a.m. Friday, Oct. 18, about a block north of the historic Ryman Auditorium, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department reported in a news release.
Leroy Wienke, 66, of Westfield, Wisconsin, was fatally struck as he and his family were waiting on a rideshare, The Tennessean reports.
The suspect, 25-year-old John Williams, was driving a 2017 Mercedes C30 “at a high rate of speed” when he swerved to avoid a stopped vehicle, investigators say.
“The Mercedes then traveled over the curb and onto the sidewalk where the four pedestrians, Wienke, his wife, brother-in-law, and sister-in law, were struck,” police said in the release. “The Mercedes then swerved back towards the roadway where it collided with a parked Ford Explorer. The Mercedes came to final rest in the middle of Commerce Street.”
Wienke died at a hospital. His wife and sister-in-law were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
A passenger in the car suffered non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.
“Officers detected a strong odor of alcohol when speaking to Williams who had slurred speech, red, bloodshot, watery eyes, and was unsteady on his feet,” police said.
The accident happened on Williams’ 25th birthday, jail records show.
Police say they charged him with:
- Vehicular homicide by intoxication
- Three counts of reckless endangerment
- Three counts of vehicular assault