Dad checking on toddler after crash killed when truck hit SUV, cops say. Man charged

A dad involved in a crash went to check on his 18-month-old in the back seat when a pickup truck hit his SUV and killed him, Tennessee authorities said.

Jalen Mahone, the 24-year-old pickup truck driver, is now charged with vehicular homicide by recklessness and aggravated assault, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said Sept. 16.

No attorney information was listed for Mahone in Davidson County court records.

The evening of July 4, Jacabo Hernandez, 29, was driving on Interstate 40 in heavy rain with a 28-year-old woman and his toddler, McClatchy News previously reported.

He lost control of his Honda CRV, hit the median wall and came to a stop in a lane of travel on the interstate, police said.

Hernandez got in the back seat to check on his son when a Dodge Ram driven by Mahone hit the Honda, sending Hernandez through a window and killing him, according to police.

There were two passengers in Mahone’s truck and two passengers in Hernandez’s SUV, and none of them were seriously injured, police said.

Investigators said they learned Mahone was driving 75 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone right before hitting the Honda.

Mahone was arrested and released on $10,000 bond, police said.

This story was originally published September 16, 2024 at 2:12 PM with the headline "Dad checking on toddler after crash killed when truck hit SUV, cops say. Man charged."