Tennessee Side-by-Side Driver Killed After Driving Off Cliff

A Tennessee man died in a side-by-side crash after driving off of a cliff while not wearing a seatbelt, reports the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. According to the TWRA, the man and a passenger left a LaFollette truck stop around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 9, and drove into the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area. During their ride, the side-by-side ended up going off of a 200-foot rock wall, ejecting the driver. He died at the scene.

The passenger, who was wearing his seatbelt, was knocked unconscious and seriously injured, but alive. TWRA identified the driver as 41-year-old Josh Mefford and the passenger as 27-year-old Rick Violes. Violes was the person who called 911 and reported the crash around 3:30 a.m. after gaining consciousness. A National Guard Black Hawk helicopter arrived at the scene at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday to take Violes to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Mefford’s body was recovered a few hours later.

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