Time: 6:10 a.m.
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022
Location: H.C. Mathis Drive and Park Avenue, Paducah
Driver 1: Kenneth W. Flournoy, 55, of Tenaha, TX, driving a 2018 Kenworth tractor and trailer north on H.C. Mathis Drive
Driver 2: Donald B. Tucker, 50, of Monroe Street, driving a 2016 Ford F150 pickup truck west on Park Avenue
Driver 3: Tara Luten, 41, of Ohio Street, driving a 2003 Mazda Protégé and stopped at a red light facing south on H.C. Mathis Drive
Three people were injured and the Robert Cherry Civic Center sustained substantial damage in a crash early this morning.
Police were called about 6:10 a.m. to the intersection of Park Avenue and H.C. Mathis Drive. Tara Luten told Officer A.J. Parrish that she was sitting at a red light, southbound on H.C. Mathis Drive, next to the Civic Center when a tractor-trailer rig heading north on H.C. Mathis Drive ran the red light.
The semi truck hit a pickup truck driving west on Park Avenue, and both vehicles crashed into Luten’s car. The semi truck then hit the east side of the Civic Center.
The driver of the tractor-trailer, Kenneth W. Flournoy, told Parrish he thought his traffic light was green. The driver of the pickup truck, Donald B. Tucker, told the officer he could not remember the crash.
All three drivers were taken to Baptist Health Paducah for treatment. The Paducah Fire Department, Kentucky Commercial Vehicle Enforcement and Paducah/McCracken County Emergency Services all responded to assist at the scene. The Robert Cherry Civic Center is owned by the City of Paducah.
