Warning lights ahead for 231 North

Flashing warning lights will be posted at the intersection of U.S. 231 North and State Route 82 (Webb Road), State Sen. Jim Tracy announced on Monday.

The intersection was the site of a traffic accident on Friday which killed a Cascade High School senior, but Tracy said he'd been talking to state officials about the intersection long prior to the accident. He said that the lights have now been ordered, and that the timing of the project was not related to the accident.

"I've been pushing them to do that for some time," said Tracy.

The warning lights will be attached to roadside signs, Tracy said. He was not certain how long it would take for them to arrive and be installed.

Brenda Golden, 17, Church Cross Road, was dead at the scene Friday morning, according to State Trooper Patrick Turner.

Victoria Atwell of Barton Drive, Normandy, was flown to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville after initial treatment at Heritage Medical Center, investigators said. Atwell, who turned 18 Saturday, was still listed in critical but stable condition as of 8 a.m. today. She was also a Cascade student.

The van driven by Golden, with Atwell as a passenger, pulled out from State Route 82 attempting to make a left turn onto U.S. 231, according to Turner. In doing so, it pulled into the path of a northbound tractor-trailer owned by Greatwide and driven by Norman Smith of Lawrenceburg.

Golden's van was struck in the driver's side door and dragged some distance. Both occupants of the van were pinned in for some time.

Services for Golden, who would have turned 18 on Dec. 26, will be 7 tonight at Doak-Howell Funeral Home. Visitation with the family will begin at 5 p.m.

Memorial donations may be made to the Brenda Golden Memorial Funeral Fund, in care of Doak-Howell Funeral Home, P.O. Box 457, Shelbyville, TN 37162.

School was out of session this week, but Cascade principal Sharon Edwards said last week that the student body had been shaken by the death and said Golden would likely have been near the top of her graduating class.