Nick Townsend, 17, dies 2 days after head-on crash with alleged drunk driver Laura Beasley at Highway 52 and College Street in Portland, Tennessee

Modified Date: 
Sat, 02/25/2017 - 7:41am
Accident Date: 
Friday, May 15, 2015

Teen injured in crash before graduation, dies 2 days later; Woman charged

According to Portland High’s athletic website, he was a midfielder for the soccer team. He planned to join the U.S. Army after high school and return home to Portland to become a police officer.

GoFundMe: Medical & Burial Expenses for Nick

Let's come together to help his family with medical bills and the planning of his burial to help honor his life.

Vigil planned for high school senior killed in crash

On Friday night, Nick Townsend was hit head-on by an alleged drunk driver. The crash happened near the intersection of Highway 52 and College Street in Portland.

DUI driver sentenced to 16 years in state penitentiary

A woman who pleaded guilty in a crash that killed a Portland teenager the weekend of his high school graduation was sentenced Friday to 16 years in the state penitentiary.

Portland High School senior Nick Townsend was a passenger in a car with his girlfriend and her mother on Highway 52 at College Street when it was struck by alleged drunk driver Laura Beasley Friday night. Townsend and his companions were returning from a Special Olympics event, at which they were volunteering.  According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Beasley, of Springfield, veered across the solid yellow line and struck Townsend’s car head-on. All three occupants had to be extricated by the Portland Fire Department, and Townsend died two days later at TriStar Skyline Medical Center. He was an organ doner. Beasley, who had a 2-year-old child in her vehicle at the time of the crash, was charged with vehicular homicide, two counts of vehicular assault, DUI with a child enhancement, and reckless endangerment.
People Involved: 
Nick Townsend
Laura Beasley

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