UPDATED: RUTHERFORD COUNTY, TN - The 87-year-old man who was struck and killed by a vehicle this past week on Highway 231 South in Christiana was laid to rest on Monday. Jerry Wayne Smotherman, 86, reportedly saw that a motorist had been involved in an accident and stopped to assist those on the scene of the busy state highway.

The first accident — along with the second that tragically followed — occurred within feet of one another on Highway 231 South in Christiana, just outside the Murfreesboro city limits. Firefighters, State Troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), and deputies from the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office all responded immediately after the first call was made to dispatchers. Upon arrival, authorities quickly shut down the four-lane divided highway between Richmond’s Retreat and Walnut Grove Road.

Smotherman was struck and killed after attempting to check on those involved in the first accident. He was hit by an oncoming vehicle driven by a 37-year-old man headed toward Shelbyville.

Mr. Smotherman, a lifelong resident of the Christiana area, was born just a few miles away from where he was killed on August 8, 2025. He was born in 1938 to parents Horace Palmer and Chester Mae (Helton) Smotherman in the Midland Community.

The elderly Good Samaritan is survived by his daughter, Angela, and son-in-law, Ricky Wilkinson; brothers, Edward (Virginia) and Bobby Smotherman; and nephews Ricky and Brian Smotherman.

During his working years, Mr. Smotherman was employed by the U.S. Rubber Company in Shelbyville, the Rutherford County Creamery, and Forrest Sloan Cabinet Shop before retiring from the Cummins Sign Company. Jennings and Ayers Funeral Home in Murfreesboro handled his arrangements on Monday, August 11, 2025.

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An elderly gentleman was struck and killed by an oncoming car while attempting to lend a helping hand Friday morning. The incident took place at around 5:30 in the morning on the Shelbyville Highway (231 South), 1-mile south of Christiana Middle and Christiana Elementary Schools.

86-year-old Jerry Smotherman reportedly saw that a motorist had been involved in an accident and stopped to assist those on the scene of the busy state highway.

The first accident — along with the second that tragically followed — occurred within feet of one another on Highway 231 South in Christiana, just outside the Murfreesboro city limits. Firefighters, State Troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), and deputies from the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office all responded immediately after the first call was made to dispatchers. Upon arrival, authorities quickly shut down the four-lane divided highway between Richmond’s Retreat and Walnut Grove Road.

A THP report released to WGNS indicated that the Good Samaritan who was killed was making his way toward the wrecked vehicle when he was struck by another driver. The preliminary report stated that Smotherman was hit and killed as he attempted to cross the highway to aid the crash victim.

According to the report, 37-year-old Carl D. Bailey, driving a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu toward Shelbyville, collided with Smotherman in the first lane of traffic — commonly referred to as the passing lane. After striking the elderly man, Bailey pulled to the shoulder of the road as other drivers stopped in the middle of the highway or pulled to the side of the road. Sadly, Smotherman died at the scene.

The initial THP report notes that no charges have been filed against Bailey at this time. The accident remains under investigation.