Driver charged with killing man, having children in car during road rage crash

BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) - A person was charged in a road rage incident that resulted in one death on Alcoa Highway Saturday, according to the Alcoa Police Department.

Officials with APD, Alcoa Fire Department and AMR responded to a deadly crash on Alcoa Highway at the Hunt Road exit at approximately 9:15 a.m. on Sept. 17.

A white Jeep Gladiator and a gray Nissan Altima were both traveling north and involved in a road rage incident, according to an investigation by APD’s Traffic Crash Reconstruction Team.

The Jeep Gladiator crossed two lanes of traffic and struck the Nissan Altima, which resulted in both vehicles leaving the roadway and striking a guardrail barrier in the median, officials said.

The driver of the Nissan Altima was identified as William Carroll, 34, of Maryville, and was pronounced dead at the University of Tenessee Medical Center.

Derek Geary, 58, of Maryville, was driving the Jeep Gladiator with three juveniles, according to APD. Officials said that the children, ranging from ages eight to 13, were transported for treatment for their injuries.

Geary was arrested and charged with one count of vehicular homicide and three counts of felony reckless endangerment.

On Monday, he appeared through video before Judge William Brewer and was given one week to find an attorney.

The investigation of this incident is ongoing. Those with information about the crash should contact Lt. Dustin Stevenson at the Alcoa Police Department at (865) 981-4111 or dstevenson@cityofalcoa-tn.gov.

This is not the first time Geary has been charged in a car crash. He was charged back in March with vandalism after he quit his job, according to a Blount County Sheriff’s Office report.

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