Two indicted in fatal crashes near Lenoir City, district attorney urges caution

LENOIR CITY, Tenn. (WATE) — The Ninth District Attorney General urged caution after a Loudon County grand jury indicted two people in connection to separate fatal crashes on I-40 near the Lenoir City exit. The indictments were handed down May 11th Ashley Rae Jones, 32, of Cumberland County was indicted on charges including criminally negligent homicide. Ethan Collins faces charges including reckless vehicular homicide. District Attorney General Russell Johnson explained that Jones had been traveling east on I-40 and had passed over Highway 95 at the Lenoir City/Melton Hill exit. Around this spot, road maintenance had caused traffic to come to a stop. According to Johnson, Jones is accused of reaching down to pick up a vape pen, then slamming into the back of a Geo Tracker driven by a 17-year-old, pushing it into the back of another vehicle. The teen died almost instantly, and Jones was unhurt, Johnson said. Johnson said that Collins had been driving his truck recklessly at a high speed on I-40 near the same spot. According to Johnson, Collins drove into the rear of a pickup truck near the split of I-40 with I-75, right before the Lenoir City/Melton Hill exit. This caused the truck to careen across the median and hit an eastbound vehicle killing Kimberly Morquecho, 36, and Guadalupe Rodriguez, 35, from Texas. The driver of the pickup truck was also hurt and had to be airlifted. Collins and Jones have both made their $100,000 bonds and are scheduled for arraignment on Friday. Johnson said both crashes were caught on video. "The section of I-40 through Roane County between Rockwood Mountain and into Loudon County approaching the junction of I-40 with I-75 has seen more than its fair share of serious and often fatal crashes, especially since the post-Covid influx of the tens of thousands of new residents moving to our area of East Tennessee from other states," Johnson said on Saturday. He added that the area requires extra caution because many drivers speed, are inattentive, or are too aggressive. "These situations, hopefully, will serve as an extra caution," Johnson said. "Please slow down, stay off the handheld devices, avoid drinking and driving, and be patient and kind to each other. Tennessee ranked 11th in a recent survey for aggressive driving and road rage."