Woman Struck by Car While Viewing Snake on Foothills Parkway

A Georgia woman was struck and killed Friday by an oncoming vehicle after getting out of her car to view a snake on the Foothills Parkway West.

According to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 64-year-old Shirley Jean Alexander Clifton, of Woodstock, Ga., was struck and killed by an oncoming vehicle after she exited the vehicle in which she had been traveling as a passenger to observe a snake on the roadway. The accident occurred just before 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 26, 2016, near Chilhowee Lake on Foothills Parkway West, which stretches from Walland to Chilhowee.

Park rangers, Blount County Sheriff’s deputies and Blount Rescue Squad responded to the scene. Rural Metro transported Clifton to Blount Memorial Hospital. The Tennessee Highway Patrol Critical Incident Response Team assisted rangers with the accident investigation, which is ongoing. Officials said there is no indication that the driver of the vehicle that struck Clifton was at fault.