Was a fatal 2022 motor vehicle accident the result of an unfortunate lapse in judgement possibly exacerbated by substance abuse issues, or the inevitable conclusion to a series of reckless and dangerous actions? A jury of 61-year-old Derek Geary’s peers will ultimately decide this week whether the Maryville resident should be held responsible for what law enforcement described as a fatal “road rage” incident.
On a Saturday evening in September of 2022, then 58-year-old Derek Geary was traveling northbound on Alcoa Highway in a white 2022 Jeep Gladiator. Geary had with him three minor passengers ranging in age from 8 to 13-years-old.
Police reports don’t identify a possible reason for what happened next. Traffic investigators with the Alcoa Police Department, however, alleged based on reconstruction efforts that Geary crossed two lanes of northbound traffic and crashed into a 2017 Nissan Altima, causing both vehicles to veer off the roadway into the median and strike a guardrail. Although the Jeep reportedly came to a stop upside-down on the guardrail, all four occupants survived the crash. 38-year-old William Carroll, the driver of the Nissan Altima, was pronounced dead at U.T. Medical Center…