Family, friends push for answers after man found hit and killed on I-40

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Metro Police are trying to figure out what led up to a man being found hit and killed along the side of I-40 near the airport on Tuesday morning.

Family and friends of Austin David are hoping someone with information will come forward after officers said David was likely lying in the road and being hit by multiple vehicles for up to 10 hours.

The 22-year-old Mt. Juliet resident died between the Donelson Pike and Stewarts Ferry Pike exits of I-40 East. David’s body was found at around 11:15 a.m., but police said he could’ve been there as early as 2 a.m.

Police said he was walking along the right shoulder when he was hit by a car in the right lane and then hit again in the middle lane. No witnesses or vehicles that hit David were in the area when officers arrived.

David’s mother, Rachel Kimbrough Reed, told WSMV that she woke up on Tuesday morning at her Texas home feeling something was wrong. When she was not able to contact David, she called his roommate because she’d been told they were going out together on Monday night.

Kimbrough said the roommate first told her he didn’t remember if they left the bar together, but he woke up on Tuesday with damage on his truck that looked like he hit something.

The roommate then mentioned getting in a fight with David on their drive home, so he let David out on the side of I-40 near where his body was found, Reed said.

“Something doesn’t add up here,” Kimbrough said. “This story makes no sense at all.”

Metro Police said the investigation is still ongoing, and officers are not able to provide any information beyond the initial press release on Tuesday that identified David.

David grew up in the Nashville area before moving away to several other cities with family, Kimbrough said. He moved back to Mt. Juliet about a year ago to reconnect with friends and get a new job.

David made several unanswered calls to friends around 3 a.m. but was not seen or heard from until his body was found, Kimbrough said.

Selena Curtis said people who knew David are struggling to process what happened. Curtis and other friends are praying for justice because she doesn’t think this was an accident.

“He wouldn’t want us to cry or anything, but it’s just something that none of us can handle,” Curtis said. “It’s something that none of us thought would happen in the long run. He’s someone we never thought we would lose, and it hurts bad.”

Curtis, Kimbrough and other people WSMV4 spoke with said David was a big teddy bear and one of the most selfless people they’d ever met. His goal in life was to make people smile and laugh any time he walked into a room.

“He was just a caring and loving person who never wanted anybody hurt,” Curtis said. “I know he would want something said and something done about any type of situation that’s happened.”

They are hoping someone will come forward with information, so police can help people who loved David to get closure after this shocking tragedy. They’ve started a GoFundMe to help cover funeral expenses.