A 20-year-old Loudon man was killed Sunday afternoon when the motorcycle he was riding slammed into a minivan, a Tennessee Highway Patrol official said. Casey Skeen died instantly in the 12:40 p.m. accident on U.S. Highway 321 at the intersection of Dunlap Hollow Road just outside the Maryville city limits, said trooper Brent Cagle. According to witnesses, Skeen was traveling south on the highway at "a high rate of speed," Cagle said.
Walter Isbill, 78, of Friendsville, who was driving a 2002 Ford
Windstar, was attempting to turn left onto Dunlap Hollow Road when
Skeen's 2002 Yamaha motorcycle struck the minivan, Cagle said. The
motorcycle left approximately 150 feet of skid marks on the roadway,
Cagle said. It struck Isbill's vehicle so hard the minivan spun
almost 360 degrees, Cagle said.
Isbill, and his wife, Ruby Isbill, 75, a passenger, were transported
to the University of Tennessee Medical Center with "minor bumps and
bruises," Cagle said. The couple wore seat belts. Skeen was wearing
a helmet, but the safety restraint would not have made a difference,
Cagle said.