by Heather Graf
DICKSON COUNTY, Tenn. – The mother of a fatal accident victim said she has no hard feelings for the Dickson County Sheriff's Deputy that allegedly crossed the center line and hit her son's vehicle head-on.
Investigators said Deputy Joseph Wenck was off-duty when the accident occurred just before 8 a.m. on Thursday. It happened on Beasley Drive, just off Highway 48 South.
"Through our preliminary investigation, he either fell asleep or blacked out, that's what caused him to cross over the center line," said Sgt. Todd Christian with the Dickson Police Department.
Christian said Wenck's Nissan Frontier pick-up truck first hit a Nissan Maxima, and then a Jeep Wrangler driven by 23-year-old Nathan Beard.
The female driver the Nissan Maxima was not hurt.
Police said Nathan suffered serious head injuries. He was on his way to class at the nearby Tennessee Technology Center of Dickson when the accident occurred.
"When I didn't see him come in, one of the other students had noticed there were emergency vehicles just down the road, and they said they thought they saw his vehicle upside down in a ditch," said his instructor, Johnnie Little.
Little drove to the accident scene, saw Nathan's jeep for himself, and then picked up the phone to deliver the bad news to his family.
"We had all kinds of hopes for a bright future, he was looking forward to finding someone, getting married, having a family, all the normal things," said Nathan's mother, Sherry Beard.
Sherry said she and her husband adopted Nathan when he was just four weeks old. They first welcomed him into their home as an infant, on the morning of September 13th.
Just two days ago, Sherry and Nathan took a trip to Chattanooga, to celebrate that special day in their family's life.
"We stayed at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo, we ate at Sticky Fingers, we went to the aquarium," she said. "We had a wonderful time, we really did."
Sherry said she's grateful for that last day with her son. His very last Facebook post, written on Wednesday night, talked about how he had the best mother in the whole world.
"Don't ever miss an opportunity to tell someone you love them," she said. "Let them know how much they mean to you."
Sherry wants Deputy Wenck to know she does not blame him for her son's death.
"This is a difficult thing, and he's going to have to deal with it his whole life, and I just want him to know I hold no hard feelings, that it was an accident," she said.
Visitation for Nathan Beard will be held on Friday at 2 p.m. at McDonald Funeral Home in Centerville. The funeral will be held on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Deputy Joseph Wenck was released from the hospital Thursday afternoon. He and his young child, who was in the backseat at the time of the crash, are both going to be okay.
No charges have been filed at this time. Police said it will take several days to reconstruct the accident and complete their investigation. At that time, they will consult with the District Attorney about whether charges should be filed.
Dickson County Sheriff Jeff Bledsoe said he visited with Wenck in the hospital. He said the deputy, and the entire department, send their deepest condolences to Nathan Beard's family.
He also said Wenck will be staying home for a few days while his injuries heal, but does not expect the accident to affect his employment with the sheriff's office.
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Nathan Beard
