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BY BILL JONES
STAFF WRITER
Two local persons died about 4:30 p.m. Friday in a head-on collision on Snapps Ferry Road near its intersection with Walkertown Road.
The collision involved a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck driven by Andrew Pierce, 25, of Hawkins Lane, Baileyton, and a 1991 Toyota Tercel driven by Bronson A. Ricker, 36, of Milburnton Road, Limestone.
Ricker and his passenger in the Toyota, Melody P. Gosnell, 28, of Albert Street, Greeneville, were killed in the collision.
According to Trooper Eric Wise, the collision occurred when Pierce's truck skidded on slush in a curve, crossed the centerline and crashed head-on into the smaller Toyota.
Both victims were dead at the scene, Trooper Wise said. Pierce, the driver of the pickup truck, was treated and released.
Autopsies have been ordered on both victims, Wise said.
The collision occurred in an area where an estimated two inches of snow had recently fallen on the roadway, according to a Greeneville Sun photographer at the scene.
According to Trooper Wise, the Dodge truck was northbound on Snapps Ferry Road, and the Toyota Tercel was southbound.
At the time of the accident, which occurred near the intersection with Walkertown Road, a mixture of rain and snow was falling in the area, and there was slush on the roadway.
Also responding to the accident were the Newmansville Volunteer Fire Department, the Greeneville Emergency & Rescue Squad, Greene County-Greeneville Emergency Medical Services, and the Greene County Sheriff's Department.
MANY ACCIDENTS
Radio transmissions indicated that, at about the same time as the Snapps Ferry Road accident, numerous snow-related accidents were being reported in various other parts of the county, from Cedar Creek to the Rheatown area.
Specific locations included, among others, Jockey Road, Milburnton Road, and the Tennessee Rt. 107 Cutoff at Little Indian Creek Road, where an accident with injuries was reported.
More details of those accidents will be published as they become known.
A number of accidents were also reported in Greeneville on Friday evening, and many cars were reported to have skidded off various roads and streets.
Heavy snow made travel slow on Interstate 81 between the I-81/I-40 fork and Exit 23, and it was generally more difficult on less traveled highways between I-81 and Greeneville, a person driving from Knoxville told the Sun.
The snowy and treacherous road conditions prompted the Greene County Clerk's office to close on Saturday.
Greene County Clerk David Thompson said his office would be open on Monday.
Rain began Friday morning, and by mid-afternoon had begun to turn to snow, particularly in the northern part of the county.
By late afternoon, snow had begun to cover the ground and roads in many areas of the county, and the snowfall increased as the evening progressed.
