Driver in deadly wrong-way DUI crash on S. Church Street that killed a man faces vehicular homicide

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - (November 8, 2024) - The driver in the fatal wrong-way DUI collision that killed a Murfreesboro man on S. Church Street last night has been charged with vehicular homicide.

23-year-old Lora Allison Tenpenny was also charged with felony reckless endangerment and DUI charges.

The crash happened on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 7:24 p.m. when Tenpenny was driving a 2004 Jeep Wrangler southbound in the northbound lane of S. Church Street and crashed head-on with a BMW. The 28-year-old man driving the BMW died. The Jeep flipped onto its side. Tenpenny and her 22-year-old female passenger were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

An off-duty Williamson County deputy called 911 to report a possible intoxicated driver and witnessed the deadly crash. Off-duty Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department Safety Officer/Paramedic Captain Karl Daigle stopped after seeing the wreckage. Daigle and the deputy helped pulled the victim from the BMW and started CPR. MFRD firefighters and Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services personnel arrived and took over medical care.

Tenpenny was released from the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center about an hour and half after posting a $72,000 bond. She has a hearing in Rutherford County General Sessions Court on Nov. 19.

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