Teenage couple killed after their car was struck by an 18-wheeler

High-school sweethearts aged 18 and 19 are both killed after boyfriend who was driving failed to stop at intersection and their car was struck by an 18-wheeler

  • Austin Moffitt, 18, and Alexis McCann, 19, of Dunlap, Tennessee, were in a Jeep when they collided with a Freightliner truck
  • Both were students of Sequatchie County High School and graduated in May
  • The driver of the 18-wheeler survived the crash and was not injured
  • The crash took place at around 10.30pm on Thursday

An 18-year-old football player and his 19-year-old girlfriend were killed when the Jeep they were driving collided with an 18-wheeler after crossing into its path.

Austin Moffitt and Alexis McCann of Dunlap, Tennessee, were driving along State Route 28 on Thursday evening at around 10.30pm when they crossed into an intersection and were struck by a 2019 Freightliner truck. 

The collision happened at the intersection of Highway 28 and John Burch Road around 20 miles north of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Both Moffit and McCann were wearing seatbelts according to a Tennessee Highway Patrol report.

Moffitt and McCann were driving in a 2016 Jeep Patriot when the driver side of their car was struck by the 18-wheeler which was travelling southbound, said the highway patrol report.

The driver of the truck which slammed into the teenagers wasn’t injured. It is unclear if he faced questioning by troopers, and whether they plan to pursue a criminal investigation into the tragedy.  

Austin Moffitt, 18, with Alexis McCann, 19, of Dunlap, Tennessee, who were both involved in a fatal car crash on September 29

Moffitt (left) with his Sequatchie County High School teammate Casey McDaniel (right)

The report says the car Moffitt was driving ‘allegedly failed to stop at the intersection’.

The truck driver, Jeffrey Miller, 62, of Elkmont, Alabama, was not injured in the crash.

Moffitt and McCann both attended Sequatchie County High School and graduated in May.

Moffitt was a keen football player. His former coach, Shawn Cooley posted on Facebook: ‘Austin Moffitt was such a great young man and player.’

McCann’s family have also posted devastated tributes to their late loved-one online, and asked locals to pray for them as they grieve their sudden and shocking loss.  

A tribute to both Moffitt and McCann posted by their former teacher and coach Shawn Cooley

The parents of Austin Moffitt, Calvin and Christy Moffitt

One of Moffitt’s team members posted online: ‘This young man was a not only a brother to me and so many others but also someone you could look up to as he always had a smile on his face and a joke to make.’

The Sequatchie County Quarterback Club posted on Facebook that it will be taking donations to cover Moffitt’s funeral costs. It will also host a barbecue on Friday October 7 at the Sequatchie County Football Stadium.

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