On Friday, December 13, 2019 at 5:59pmCT, the Adair County Sheriffs Office was dispatched to a single vehicle collision 7 miles west of Columbia, KY. Dispatch advised Deputies that a vehicle had struck a tree and the driver was pinned in the vehicle. Preliminary investigation reveals that 20-year-old Tanner Toothaker of Kansas was operating a 2007 Chevrolet truck, headed toward Columbia on KY 80 west. Toothaker lost control of the vehicle (for unknown reasons at this time), left the roadway, traveled over an embankment and struck a tree head-on.
Tanner was pinned in the vehicle and had to be extricated by mechanical means by the Columbia -Adair County Fire Dept. He was then treated on scene by Adair EMS. Emergency officials requested a helicopter, but due to inclement weather, all Air Medical services were grounded. Adair EMS transported Tanner to TJ Health Columbia, where he was quickly transferred to the University of Louisville Hospital by Adair EMS. At this time, he is still in a coma listed in critical condition.
The collision is being investigated by Adair County Deputy Derek Padgett who was assisted on scene by Deputy Chandler Staten and Columbia Police Officer Drew Conn.
