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MHS student killed in auto accident

By Victor Parkins

A 16-year old Milan High School student was killed in a two-car automobile accident Wednesday night.
Zakary Yarbrough died not long after the accident happened just before 6:00 p.m. on Sanders Store Road about 3 miles west of Milan.
Yarbrough was the passenger in a 2008 Ford Focus driven by his girlfriend, Katherine Taylor, 17, a senior at Milan High School. Taylor was airlifted to a local hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
According to a report from Tennessee Highway Patrolman Chris Johnstone, Taylor was traveling west on Milan Sanders Store Road when she failed to negotiate a curve and lost control of the car.
Taylor’s car crossed into the eastbound lane and was hit by a 2005 GMC pickup truck driven by Joe Westmoreland, 22, of Trenton. Westmoreland had a 2-year old passenger, Brayden Westmoreland, in the rear seat of his truck.
The THP report states that both Westmoreland’s were injured but does not indicate the seriousness of said injuries.
The report from the THP confirms that everyone involved in the accident was properly restrained with seat belts but in the officer’s opinion, it would not have made a difference.
There were no drugs or alcohol involved in the accident, according to the report.
Milan Director of Schools Jonathon Criswell said Thursday was a trying day at Milan High.
“Our hearts go out to the families involved in last night’s accident,” Criswell said. “It’s in times like these we reflect on the blessings of life and that it can be too short,” he said.
Every school counselor in the district was on hand to greet students early Thursday morning and provide extra support to those that needed it.
“I commend the faculty, staff and administration for putting together a plan that I believe provided the support our kids needed,” added Criswell. “They worked late Wednesday night and arrived early Thursday morning and handled a tough situation well. As a district, we will continue to support our students and their families.”
Both Yarbrough and Taylor were members of the MHS Marching Bulldogs. Mr. Criswell said Friday’s football game would be another trying time for the school, as the band was set for their first performance of the year.
Services for Yarbrough will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Milan Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Visitation is set for Friday from 2:00 p.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturday morning from 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.DSC_0211_F

3 Comments

  1. Pam on August 19, 2016 at 10:12 am

    Prayers to both families.

    • Mindy on December 25, 2016 at 7:23 pm

      Prayers go out to those families

  2. Alyssa Bruneau on September 18, 2018 at 1:22 pm

    still so sad. I was Zak’s friend and he was like a brother to me.

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