Roane County Man killed in ATV accident
Jody Murphy
POSTED: March 6, 2008
WALTON - A Roane County man died in an ATV accident over the weekend.
David Lee Clark, 38, of Walton was discovered Sunday morning over a 60-foot embankment along U.S. 119 by a Roane County Deputy Sheriff Mike King. He came upon an unmanned ATV sitting along the guardrail, with the engine still running.
The discovery coincided with a 911 call that also reported the unmanned ATV.
King looked over the guardrail, discovered Clark and radioed for assistance. Members of the Walton Volunteer Fire Department responded to the call, which came in around 2:30 a.m., according to Fire Chief Jim Weekley.
Weekley said when emergency personnel reached Clark he was unconscious, but still breathing. Clark was stabilized, brought up the embankment and loaded into an ambulance.
Weekley said Healthnet was called and the ambulance headed to the landing zone two miles away. After the Healthnet crew arrived, Weekley said Clark, who was being prepped for transport, went into traumatic arrest. He was pronounced dead about 4:20 a.m.
Weekley said emergency personnel had no idea how long Clark had been over the embankment before being discovered.
"Nobody seems to have a time," he said. "When we got there he was dressed appropriately for the weather, but his skin was cool to the touch, but I can't say for sure how long he had been there."
Weekley said it appeared Clark's ATV, while descending a sharp curve, crossed the median, went into the berm and struck the guardrail. Weekley did not believe the impact was very hard.
"It was sitting on all four wheels," he said of the ATV. "It doesn't look like a hard impact."
Weekley said the ATV was sitting at 45 degree angle to the guardrail, so the impact did not appear to be head on. He also said there were no skidmarks on the gravel of the berm.
"It doesn't appear he tried to brake or anything like that," he said.
Weekley said he believed alcohol was a factor in the accident.
"We believe so, but we are not 100 percent sure," Weekley said. Weekley said it had been confirmed Clark had been drinking with some friends.
