Pokémon Go Causes Major Crash-Reported as Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
A 21-year-old playing Pokémon Go while driving caused a major traffic accident that took the life of a truck driver named Carroll Trent in Tennessee.
The Truth:
It’s true that a truck driver named Carroll Trent was killed in a head-on collision near downtown Knoxville in July 2016.
But authorities said there was “no early indication” that the driver 21-year-old driver of an SUV that struck Trent’s truck head on was playing Pokémon Go before the crash.
A police spokesperson told NBC affiliate WBIR that, “Once the investigation has been completed the investigative file will be presented including all the causation factors leading up to this horrific tragedy.”
Rumors that the 21-year-old was playing Pokémon Go before the fatal crash appear to have started with a grieving family member of Trent. Rachel Trent, who identified herself as Carroll’s daughter, posted:
I probably shouldn’t post this, but this should a a wakeup call to people. I do not want to take my anger out on others unintentionally, so I will ask my friends & family out of respect & consideration for me & my family, please DO NOT mention Pokémon Go around me ever!! My father lost his life to this stupid friggin’ game!! The 21 year old who hit my Dad head on this morning was so obsessed with finding these Pokémon that he drove down this wrong side of the interstate colliding with my Dad’s semi & in turn caused his truck to explode, incinerating it to the ground!! There’s NOTHING LEFT but the frame!! My Dad died today thanks to this friggin’ App! So people, I urge you to PLEASE stop using this App!! But if you really have no life & must play it, please be responsible & DO NOT get in a car!!! I’d hate to see anyone I know cause this type of pain & devastation that has been inflicted upon my family today. . . .
There won’t be clear answers about what caused the fatal crash until an accident report is released, but Knoxville police indicated that the 21-year-old driver did not appear to be playing Pokémon Go before the crash.