Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers responded to a fatal accident on the Foothills Parkway between Chilhowee Lake and Look Rock, near mile marker 13, at approximately 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3. A passenger in a vehicle, Maiah Reilich-Godino, age 18, of Eddington, Maine, was sitting in an open window while the 2011 Jeep Patriot was in motion. She fell from the vehicle when the roof rack she was pulling up on disconnected from the roof. Maiah died as a result of her injuries.
Blount County Sheriff Office Deputies and Park Rangers performed CPR until American Medical Response (AMR) ambulance service arrived and pronounced her dead on scene. The driver and front-seat passenger, the only other occupants of the vehicle, were not injured.
Park Rangers are completing the accident investigation. No additional details are available at this time.
– National Park Service release
