A 73-year-old Springfield man died Thursday evening in a head-on crash on Whites Creek Pike in Nashville, and a 7-year-old child in the other vehicle is in critical condition, Nashville police said.
Police identified the dead man as 73-year-old Nicholas J. Mulder of Springfield, Tennessee. The two-vehicle collision happened at 5:20 p.m. in the 7900 block of Whites Creek Pike.
How the crash happened
Detectives said the preliminary investigation shows Mulder was driving a 2019 Ford Fiesta north on Whites Creek Pike. For reasons unknown, he crossed the double yellow line into oncoming traffic and hit a southbound 2015 Ford Escape, police said.
Mulder died at the scene.
Injuries in the Escape
A 7-year-old child in the Escape suffered critical injuries. The 25-year-old male driver and a 26-year-old female front seat passenger had injuries that police said were not life-threatening.
All three were taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Cause under investigation
Police said they found no indicators of impairment for either driver. They believe all occupants wore restraints at the time of the crash.
The preliminary cause is failure to maintain lane of travel on Mulder’s part, according to the department.
