July 7, 2007

Center Grove man dies in accident

       A Center Grove area man was killed when he crashed into a utility pole early Friday morning moments after a repossession agent tried to take his vehicle.  Robert Parks, 53, was fleeing the man who tried to repossess the sport utility vehicle, police said.  Parks was driving south on Peterman Road near Smith Valley Road at high speed when the vehicle slid through a curve and jumped a curb, striking several mail boxes and the utility pole.  The impact flung Parks more than 20 feet, according to a police report.  Parks, who rushed out of his home around 2 a.m. to rescue his vehicle, wasn't wearing a seat belt, Johnson County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Doug Cox said.  Police arrived within minutes of the accident, and Parks was pronounced dead at the scene.  Blunt-force trauma and blood loss were the causes of death, Johnson County Chief Deputy Coroner Danny Meagher said.  "If you're thrown from the vehicle after a violent impact like that, your chances of survival are slim to none," Cox said. "If you're not buckled up and ejected from the vehicle, your chances are never very good."

         A repossession agent for Diversified Recovery went to Parks' home in Friendly Village Trailer Park in the Center Grove area about 2 a.m. Friday to tow his vehicle, which the agent found parked in a driveway near a shed.  The agent had hooked the SUV's rear wheels to his truck's lift when the SUV's brake lights came on, he told police.  Parks drove the SUV off the lift, through the yard next to the driveway and through the trailer park at a high speed. He sped south on Peterman Road, and the repossession agent lost sight of the vehicle.  Two witnesses driving west on Smith Valley Road saw Parks' SUV drive off the road into the utility pole. One had to speed up to get out of the way when he saw Parks wouldn't make the curve, Cox said.  The repossession agent was driving to his next assignment when he saw sheriff's deputies gathered around the crash site. He recognized the vehicle and pulled over to tell the officers what happened at the trailer park.  Cox said Parks drove fast and recklessly even though he wasn't being followed. A tow truck would not have been able to keep up with him, and Parks likely was in the clear after he left Friendly Village, Cox said.  "It's a terrible tragedy," Cox said. "He didn't want his vehicle taken away."  Parks' blood was drawn for a toxicology test, but Meagher said he doesn't believe Parks was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)

 
   

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