Woman Charged After Flying Mattress Hits Car; Erwin Couple Barely Escape Injury
Photo submitted by: Washington County, TN Sheriff’s Office
Part of a bed frame pierced the windshield of a car on State Route 80 last weekend.
An Erwin, Tennessee, couple got the scare of a lifetime last Saturday when a mattress flew off a truck and hit their moving car, police said.
According to a news release today from the Washington County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office, the accident happened last Saturday morning (December 13th) on State Route 81 near Lamar School. Deputies say that’s where they found a 2006 Nissan driven by Burgess Shelton, age 79, Erwin, Tennessee, with windshield and front-end damage.
“The vehicle had been struck by a mattress that had blow out of the bed of a passing pick-up truck,“ according to a Washington County, Tennessee news release. “Upon impact the frame of the mattress broke apart, sending the frame through the windshield of the car. The frame came to rest between Mr. Shelton and a passenger in his vehicle, Aliene Shelton, 76, Erwin, TN. No injuries were reported in this crash.“
According to the investigators, the driver of the pick-up truck which lost the load was Kimberly R. Britt, age 40, Jonesborough, Tennessee.
Britt was charged with the following:
-1 count of Aggravated Criminal Littering
-1 count of Violation of the Secured Load Law
-1 count of Failure to Provide Proof of Insurance
“The Tennessee Litter Law prohibits the transport of litter or any material likely to fall or be blown off onto the highway unless the material is transported in an enclosed space or fully covered by a tarpaulin.“ said Sheriff Ed Graybeal in the news release. “By (sic) having the materials in an enclosure or secured by a tarpaulin greatly reduces the likelihood the items will fall off or be blown out of the vehicle,“ Graybeal said.
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Reader Reactions
If the load was strapped (not mentioned in the article), then perhaps it is purely an accident. Hopefully the details will come out in court and the outcome is fair.
I know this lady and I am very close to her, and I do not understand why people have to judge her when they do not know her side of the story. I know that she has to fix the car but the charges that where placed on her are stupid!!! That mattress was tied down but the straps broke accidents do happen to good people to and she did not do this to be doing it. If people new who she was and where she worked at they would think differently about her. I guess the truck drivers that wreck and dump there loads all over the highway get off scott free because they don’t ever get charged with Aggravated Criminal Littering. I think people need to talk to her about what happened and then you will see that it was just an accident.
She is very lucky this was not manslaughter.
An accident is when you do everything right and something still happens. It would have taken this lady 2 minutes to secure the mattress with a rope.
She needs to pay restitution and do a lot of community service.
It is kinda silly. So maybe next time a a rock is thrown off the road and puts a nick in my windshield, that person will be charged with aggravated excessive tire tread, for having so much tread on the tire it held a rock!!!
I think this is about crazy for them to charge her with this, Accidents do happen to people it was not like she was going to leave it on the car. Bull crap! I think the law is getting more and more stupid.
-1 count of Aggravated Criminal Littering
-1 count of Violation of the Secured Load Law
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