MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) — A 50-year-old man has been charged after a 5-year-old girl and her step-father were killed in a crash in Murfreesboro last week.
The two-vehicle crash happened just before 6:45 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 27 on Middle Tennessee Boulevard between Park Avenue and Haley Road.
Murfreesboro police reported a Nissan Rogue was traveling westbound when it collided with a Mazda MZ6 that was trying to make a left turn onto Middle Tennessee Boulevard.
Five-year-old Olivia Rose Nwaise and her parents were in the Mazda, headed to practice at ETC Gymnastics, when the crash occurred. Her step-father, 35-year-old Sylvio Victor from Antioch, was pronounced dead at the scene. Olivia and her mother were taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where Olivia died on Feb. 1.
The driver of the Nissan, Ewarth Chesney, of Murfreesboro, was taken to Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Ewarth has been charged with two-counts of vehicular homicide, and aggravated assault (recklessness).
Investigators are working to determine if speed was a contributing factor in the crash and the investigation is ongoing.
The community, including ETC Gymnastics owner Ken Harris, has rallied around Olivia and her family. “You could not interact with Olivia Rose and not smile all the time,” Harris said. “Just a wonderful child raised by two wonderful parents and we’re praying for her.”
A GoFundMe has been established to assist the family.
