1 employee killed, 2 injured at Tennessee Volkswagen plant
One person was killed and two people were injured in a road incident at the Volkswagen Chattanooga plant in Tennessee on Saturday, spokesperson Amanda Plecas confirmed to CBS News in an email.
All three people were Volkswagen employees, the spokesperson said.
The driver in the collision swerved off a roadway “for unknown reasons” near the Volkswagen plant, striking the three pedestrians, the Chattanooga Police Department told CBS News in a statement. One employee, identified by the department as Amber Reed, died at the scene. A second victim remained hospitalized with life-threatening injuries as of Sunday night while the third had been treated and released.
Chattanooga police identified the driver as Jason Thornton. He was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide by recklessness, failure to operate with due care, reckless driving, felony reckless endangerment, and speeding.
The company halted production at the plant for the day, the Volkswagen spokesperson said, as the company, “continues to work closely with local law enforcement as they investigate the incident.”