Man fleeing troopers hits car, killing mother, 2 young kids

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A man fleeing Tennessee state troopers sped into a city intersection and slammed his truck into a car, killing a mother and her two young children, authorities said.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol was chasing a truck driven by Michael Don Shepherd on Tuesday morning when Shepherd sped into the intersection in the city of Cookeville and struck a car driven by Amanda Chatman, the Cookeville Police Department said in a news release.

Chatman, 24, and her 3- and 4-year-old children were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Shepherd, 25, was arrested, charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and evading arrest, and booked into a county jail. It could not be determined immediately if he had an attorney who could speak for him.

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The story summary has been edited to correct the children’s ages.