LAUDERDALE COUNTY– On February 16, 2019, at approximately 5:24 a.m., the Parkway received a phone call reporting a single vehicle collision with fatality near mile marker 336, near Highway 20 in Alabama.
The vehicle, a 2019 Nissan Frontier, was operated by Karen Ann Coker, 42, of La Fayette, GA. Coker was pronounced deceased at the scene. Preliminary information indicates that Coker was traveling northbound on the Parkway when the vehicle went off the road shoulder, and then crossed back across both lanes of traffic before striking a tree. The vehicle struck the tree in the driver’s side door causing significant traumatic injuries to Coker.
Sarah Davis
This is the first fatality on the Parkway in 2019. There were a total of seven motor vehicle fatalities in 2018, but all occurred during the last half of the year. “We are concerned to already have our first fatality this early in the year,” stated Chief Ranger Sarah Davis. Parkway records show that all seven of the motor vehicle fatalities in 2018 were the result of distracted drivers, including those under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or persons speeding.
“The Parkway is unforgiving and it is vital that drivers pay attention and go the speed limit. It only takes one glance away from the roadway to end up off the pavement and into a tree,” said Davis. “And from my experience, the tree always wins.”
Media Release/Office of the Superintendent, Natchez Trace Parkway
