National

Teen dies after being thrown from ATV as it swerves to miss cattle trailer, TN cops say

A 15-year-old teen was killed on June 15, 2022, after she was thrown from an ATV in Jefferson City, Tennessee, a sheriff’s office said.
A 15-year-old teen was killed on June 15, 2022, after she was thrown from an ATV in Jefferson City, Tennessee, a sheriff’s office said. Getty / iStock photo

A 15-year-old teen died after she was thrown from an ATV and struck a cattle trailer in Tennessee, a sheriff’s office said.

The girl was a passenger in an ATV that her uncle was driving on Wednesday, June 15, in an open field in Jefferson City, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.

As her uncle began to slow the vehicle down, it suddenly accelerated toward the cattle trailer, deputies said.

When he swerved to miss the trailer, the teen was thrown off the ATV, deputies said.

Her body then hit the cattle trailer, the sheriff’s office said.

LauraBeth Childress was taken to a medical center where she died from her injuries two days after the incident, authorities said.

“We ask everyone to remember this family in your thoughts and prayers,” the sheriff’s office said in the Facebook post. “No charges are expected to be filed at this time.”

Jefferson City is about 30 miles northeast of Knoxville.

Read Next
Read Next
Read Next

This story was originally published June 17, 2022 at 7:56 PM with the headline "Teen dies after being thrown from ATV as it swerves to miss cattle trailer, TN cops say."

Helena Wegner
McClatchy DC
Helena Wegner is a McClatchy National Real-Time Reporter covering the state of Washington and the western region. She’s a journalism graduate from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She’s based in Phoenix.
Get one year of unlimited digital access for $159.99
#ReadLocal

Only 44¢ per day

SUBSCRIBE NOW