Pedestrian killed on interstate

December 8, 2005
A 19-year-old pedestrian was killed Wednesday night after being struck by a vehicle on Interstate 40 near the State Route 840 overpass, authorities said Wednesday night.
Lebanon resident Daniel L. Musser died when a 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe hit him while he was standing on I-40 near the 235 mile marker. The vehicle's driver, Roland Wall, said he was headed westbound on I-40 close to 7 p.m. when he "came up on him."
"(Wall) said he was in the middle of the road," Lebanon Police Officer K.D. Smith said late Wednesday night.
Wall, 44, of Nashville, told police about the time his headlights revealed Musser's presence, it was too late to miss him.
"He said there was nothing he could do," Smith said, noting police are still investigating the accident.
Lebanon Police Chief Scott Bowen said authorities were still trying to determine why Musser was on the road.
"We don't know if he was trying to cross the interstate or what," he said.
A LifeFlight helicopter was dispatched to the scene, but Musser was pronounced dead at the scene, Lebanon and Wilson Emergency Management Agency officials said.
The 7 p.m. incident caused both westbound lanes of I-40 to be shut down for an hour to an hour and a half, said Smith, who serves as Lebanon Police Department's accident reconstructionist. Smith pointed out traffic was back up for miles following the early evening accident.