Crash on pedestrian-heavy main strip in Tennessee tourist town of Gatlinburg injures 7

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) — Seven people, including two pedestrians, were injured in a multivehicle crash in the Tennessee tourist town of Gatlinburg on Sunday.

The accident occurred at about 4:20 p.m., when a minivan travelling through the middle of the pedestrian-heavy downtown area accelerated unexpectedly, striking a person in a crosswalk before colliding with several other vehicles, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol. One of the struck vehicles hit a roadside sign that fell and injured a second pedestrian. Five other people inside two different vehicles were injured as well.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating, and early indications suggest the accident may have been caused by a medical emergency, according to the agency.

Gatlinburg is located the mountains of East Tennessee. It sits between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the country’s most visited national park, and Pigeon Forge, home of Dollywood.