A veteran Tennessee sheriff's deputy was fatally struck by a tractor-trailer while trying to remove a ladder from a road Thursday.
The accident happened at about 7 a.m. as Loudon County Deputy Sgt. Chris Jenkins was trying to get rid of a ladder that had fallen along Interstate 75 near a bridge over Tennessee River, several miles south of Lenoir City, WATE-TV reports. A tractor-trailer ran into Jenkins, as well as multiple slowed vehicles and the deputy's cruiser.
Jenkins was pronounced dead at the scene.
Joining the Loudon County Sheriff's Office in 2002, Jenkins began serving as a corrections officer. In 2003, he was promoted to patrol and became a K-9 handler in 2007.
Jenkins was awarded Patrol Supervisor of the Year in 2017, and he made sergeant in 2019. The department's K-9 Patrol Unit has created a memorial to honor Jenkins in front of the Loudon County Justice Center.
The crash is under investigation.
