Crash that killed 3 marks latest deadly incident on Broadway in Knoxville

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A chaotic crash scene in Knoxville early Monday morning has left first responders searching for answers. The crash happened on North Broadway near Cecil Avenue and left three people dead one car down an embankment. "Broadway is heavily traveled especially this portion near Cecil Avenue. There's a lot of traffic that comes and goes. A lot of people go to work down Broadway into downtown. That vehicle appeared to have left the roadway and possibly, struck a couple of folks that were walking along the sidewalk or in that area,” explained Knoxville Fire Department Assistant Chief Mark Wilbanks. First responders were called to North Broadway around 8:30 Monday morning. Investigators said a car heading north hit a light pole, then struck two pedestrians near the First Creek Greenway. From there, the car went off the road and rolled down the hill. "For all the responders, it's extremely difficult. I've been doing this for about 30 years now and this is one of the wildest scenes that I've seen, where we have a very, wide scene space that we're dealing with and just the fatalities. And it's so very sad," added Wilbanks. The driver, who officials say was a woman died at the scene. Both pedestrians were also killed. As the morning went on, medical examiners arrived while tow trucks worked to pull the small gray car from the creek. Now the focus is figuring out what led up to the crash. "The Knoxville Police Department is in their investigation phase right now. So, they're working through trying to determine exactly what happened. Talking with witnesses and reconstructing the accident," said Wilbanks. The crash shut down north Broadway for nearly four hours. From January 2021 through June 2026, there have been 72 pedestrian-involved crashes along Broadway. Today's crash is not yet included in that data, but it will bring the total to 73. Of those crashes, seven had resulted in at least one fatality with Monday’s crash, that number rises to eight the investigation is still underway.