Ambulance heading to the hospital hits and kills pedestrian, Tennessee police say

A hospital-bound ambulance struck and killed a pedestrian on a Tennessee highway, police said.

The crash happened just after midnight on Tuesday, Sept. 13 as the ambulance was headed northbound toward the University of Tennessee Hospital on Alcoa Highway, according to an Alcoa Police Department news release. It’s not clear whether the emergency vehicle had a patient inside.

After the crash, lane closures and slowdowns on the roadway lasted several hours.

Police say the pedestrian, whose identity has not been announced, was wearing all black clothing and walking in the road’s left-hand lane. The pedestrian was taken to the University of Tennessee Hospital by a second ambulance and pronounced dead.

The investigation is ongoing, according to police.

Alcoa is about 15 miles south of Knoxville.

This story was originally published September 13, 2022 at 10:28 AM with the headline "Ambulance heading to the hospital hits and kills pedestrian, Tennessee police say."

Emmalyse Brownstein

McClatchy DC

Emmalyse Brownstein is a National Real-Time Reporter covering the Southeast. She’s an alumna of the University of Miami, where she was editor-in-chief of Distraction Magazine. She has reported for Miami New Times, Wine Spectator and more.