KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The city of Knoxville added street markings Tuesday afternoon to a railroad crossing where a train-car collision resulted in the deaths of three University of Tennessee assistant football coaches.
The city also has added signage to the crossing at Cessna Road and Westland Drive about a mile west of Morrell Road. No crossing gate prevents traffic from crossing when a train approaches.
On the morning of Oct. 18, 1965, three assistant coaches were riding in a Volkswagen Beetle that was crushed by a Knoxville-bound passenger train at the crossing. Bill Majors and Bob Jones died in the collision; driver Charlie Rash died several days later a a Knoxville hospital.
For decades the crossing sat with limited warning equipment.
The area was largely rural and in the county when the crash occurred. Over the decades, the population has grown dramatically. So has traffic.
The crossing is now in the city.
Many rail crossings nearby have crossing gates.
This summer an area resident alerted WBIR and a county commissioner, concerned about the volume of cut-through traffic on Cessna and the lack of adequate safety measures.
Vehicles often stop close to or on the tracks while waiting to turn left or right from Cessna onto Westland.
Knox County Commissioner Larsen Jay told WBIR he thought the crossing merited a gated arm. But city staffers said the crossing didn't register enough traffic to qualify for federal assistance and the city didn't have money budgeted this year to cover what amounted to about $350,000 for an arm.
The city, however, moved quickly to add signage and the markings that were applied Tuesday.
