Nashville’s heart rips wide open this morning as yesterday morning’s deadly car crash on I-40 East claims to lives and could potentially claim a third. Investigations are still pending, but “26-year-old Ulrique Severe of Brooklyn, New York, and 22-year-old from Briston Irby-Reynolds” died at the scene.

The accident involved multiple cars. Nathan Zarzycki, 22, was traveling home from Texas with three other passengers when “he got tired and pulled over on the shoulder, put his flashers on, and went to sleep” according to WKRN News 2. This story conflicts with that of Cookville resident Matt King, who said that Mr. Zarzycki’s Dodge Neon was parked in the left lane and did not have its flashers on. Mr. King claims he could not leave his lane nor stop his van in time, and he plowed into the Neon. The force of the impact was enough to flip Mr. King’s van. Another driver was also unable to stop in time and hit into the two cars. The other driver (thus unnamed) was not taken to the hospital, and Mr. King’s injuries were not serious.

The remaining two passengers in Mr. Zarzycki’s car, 22-year-old Kishon Forsyth and 22-year-old Kristopher Duviellia, were brought to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Mr. Forsyth’s injuries are life-threatening; Mr. Duviellia’s were not. Now Mr. Forsyth’s life hangs in the balance.

According to the police, no drugs or alcohol are believed to be a part of the accident, but it appears that Mr. Zarzycki’s car was not on the shoulder at the time of the accident.

We are devastated for these boys and their families. One of our very own was on I-40 to see first-hand the effects of the crash; the only word she could use was “traumatizing.” And every car crash that ends in death is – yet somehow, it seems so much worse that these young men were so far from home and the people who loved them when they died.

Today, we and the rest of Nashville extend our hearts and our prayers to everyone involved in this tragic multi-car accident. We will keep these families in our thoughts, and we ask you all to please be safe on the roads, today and every day.

If you have experienced the unimaginable: the loss a loved one as a result of a catastrophic vehicle wreck, nothing can ever replace what has been lost. But there is hope and help to not only honor your loved one’s memory, get them the justice they deserve and unburden the financial strain that has been placed on your family in their wake.

The Rocky McElhaney Law Firm serves clients across the state of Tennessee and Kentucky. Give us a call, we are here for you- and we fight for you. Please contact our office for more information.