Nashville, Tenn. — A driver died early Sunday after a single-vehicle crash on Antioch Pike near McCall Street in South Nashville, the Metro Nashville Police Department said.
The crash happened at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday. Police said the sedan was traveling westbound when it failed to negotiate a curve in the roadway and lost control. The Volkswagen went off the right shoulder and struck a street sign before going into a ditch, then a retaining wall.
The driver died at the scene. Police identified the driver as Joel Cuz Caal, 18. He lived in Antioch. Metro Nashville Police Department investigators said there were no indications of impairment at the scene.
Coverage of the wreck said the preliminary investigation pointed to a failure to negotiate the curve rather than a multi-vehicle collision. One account also noted the medical examiner office role after the wreck was reported on Antioch Pike.
Antioch Pike is a busy South Nashville corridor where curves and retaining walls sit close to the travel lane. Fatal single-vehicle crashes there put pressure on traffic enforcement and roadway safety reviews even when impairment is not indicated.
Metro Nashville Police Department said the preliminary investigation continues as investigators document the scene evidence from the sign, ditch and retaining wall sequence. No other injuries were reported in the accounts of Sunday wreck.
For South Nashville drivers who use Antioch Pike near McCall Street, the wreck is another reminder that a missed curve can become fatal within seconds when a vehicle leaves the shoulder and meets roadside barriers. Police have not described any secondary crash or other vehicles as factors in the preliminary findings released after the early-morning call.