Maryville, TN - A Sunday morning rock slide in Blount County has shut down all lanes of a portion of Highway 129 known as "The Dragon."
According to Yvette Martinez with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the south and northbound lanes of U.S. 129/State Route 115 are closed.
The rock slide occurred two miles south of Chilhowee Dam.
Martinez said several large boulders fell from the mountainside around 9:30 a.m.
10 News photojournalist Jerry Owens was called to the rock slide just after it occurred. While he was shooting video of the slide, a car coming around a curve became distracted and did not notice the debris covering the roadway until it was too late.
"I didn't even notice that rock fall right there," said driver Andy Edmonds. "I'm lucky to have hit it in a way to not get too hurt. My dog here, she probably took a pretty good hit, but she's alright."
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Thats just north of the Dragon itself along the lake front road. It always looks unstable when you drive by there so I'm not surprised by it, but thats still dangerous.
Thanks for posting the link.