Pais, Tenn.–One person died as a result of a Saturday afternoon traffic crash on Lone Oak Road in Paris.
Paris Police officers responded to a call of a crash around 4:30 p.m. and were notified the vehicle was on fire. At the scene there were remnants of a black BMW scattered over a wooded area to the east of the roadway just south of Owenwood Place. Debris from the crash was on fire and the driver had been ejected from the wreckage.
Assistant Police Chief Ean Reed said the driver of the car, James E. Booth age 50 of Paris, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigation into the cause of the crash revealed that the vehicle had been southbound on Lone Oak Road when it went off the left-hand side of the road and collided with a tree. At that point the driver, who was not wearing his seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle.
Immediately prior to the 911 call about the crash, police had been dispatched to the area of Lone Oak and Royal Oak Road where a vehicle matching the description of Booth’s had been observed driving recklessly and at a high rate of speed. Speed does appear to be a factor in the crash.
The Paris Police department would like to remind everyone that speeding increases both the risk of crash and serious bodily injury.