Tennessee officials: Winter weather deaths rise to 17, crashes, falls, cold to blame

Three more winter-related deaths were confirmed Friday, two in Marshall County and one in Roane, bringing Tennessee's death total to 17, state officials say.

The Tennessee Department of Health initially reported Tuesday that six people had been killed, while Knoxville Police identified a seventh death.

The Department of Health announced that the number of deaths had risen to 14 Thursday before adding the three additional deaths Friday morning.

More: Nashville area school closings: Middle Tennessee closures continue due to winter weather

No details were immediately available about the deaths in Marshall and Roane Counties.

Five people died in Shelby County, two in Washington and Marshall, and one person in Hickman, Madison, Carroll, Knox, Van Buren, Lauderdale, Roane and Henry Counties, respectively, according to news releases from the Tennessee Department of Health.

The agency did not identify the victims by name.

Henry County Sheriff Josh Frey confirmed Friday that their victim, identified as Aaron Hoover, was found dead beside his vehicle around 8:12 a.m. Wednesday after police responded to a call for service at 25 Palestine Drive.

Frey said in a release that it appears Hoover got out of his vehicle, slipped and fell to the ground and was unable to get back up and died due to exposure to harsh weather conditions.

Hoover's age was not immediately known.

One person was confirmed dead in a weather-related car crash in Madison County, but state officials did not release any details about the incident, citing the pending investigation.

Knoxville Police reported Tuesday that Marlo Jackson, 50, of Fort Lauderdale, was killed when the Budget rental truck he was driving slid in the accumulated snow and rear-ended a tractor trailer. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 66-year-old man in Hickman County died Monday afternoon when he fell through a skylight while trying to brush snow off the roof, county officials said. The Sheriff's Office, nor the county's Emergency Management Agency identified the man.

A hiker at Fall Creek Falls State Park in Van Buren County died after they seemingly fell from a bluff in the park. The Piney Volunteer Fire Department reported they responded to the park about 3 p.m. Tuesday.

"Personnel arrived and found tracks in the snow leading into the woods," the department said. "The track was followed to the bluff line overlooking Cane Creek gorge."

A Tennessee Highway Patrol helicopter found the hiker down a 700 foot bluff using a thermal imaging camera, the department said. Using a rope system, and working overnight, crews were able to recover the hiker's body.

In Washington County, two people died in a crash on a snowy highway on Jan. 15, the Tennessee Highway Patrol reported.

Thomas Boyce, 72, was driving a Chevrolet Silverado east on Highway 107 near Highway 81, southwest of Johnson City, when he lost control on the snow-covered highway just before 1 p.m., the THP preliminary report stated.

The truck then hit a Washington County/Johnson City EMS ambulance transporting a patient, 52-year-old Bobby Graham.

Graham and Boyce both were pronounced dead at the Johnson City Medical Center.

Very little information was released on the Shelby County deaths Thursday.

The West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center said hypothermia deaths are reported to the Shelby County Health Department once the forensic center has made a definitive diagnosis. However, the center said it can take several weeks to make that determination as they have to gather other information and get the results of toxicology reports. It did not elaborate on other deaths that may have been caused due to circumstances created by the weather.

The Memphis Police Department said it could not confirm any local weather-related fatalities as it had not received death reports from the medical examiner.

The Shelby County Sheriff's Office said it hadn't responded to any calls related to winter storm fatalities as of Thursday morning.

Details about the other deaths weren't immediately available Thursday.

Memphis reporters Micaela Watts and Lucas Finton and Jackson reporter Sarah Best contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Winter weather deaths rise to 17 in Tennessee, state dept reports