HOPKINSVILLE, KENTUCKY — A Chicago truck driver has been arrested and charged with vehicular homicide after a crash involving his semi-truck killed a Tennessee man on Saturday evening, with investigators determining the driver was under the influence of drugs at the time.

The crash occurred just after 6 p.m. on March 7, 2026, near the intersection of Fort Campbell Boulevard and Lovers Lane in Hopkinsville. According to Kentucky State Police, a semi-truck and trailer operated by Gerasimos Livieratos, 36, of Chicago, Illinois, was traveling southbound when it attempted to make a U-turn near a shopping center. A northbound sedan operated by Bernice Franklin, 33, of Clarksville, Tennessee, collided with the trailer of the semi. Franklin was entrapped underneath the trailer following the impact.

Franklin was transported to Jennie Stuart Medical Center with CPR in progress, where he was pronounced deceased after lifesaving measures were attempted. Next of kin has been notified.

Livieratos was arrested and transported to the Christian County Jail. He faces charges of vehicular homicide when under the influence of drugs or a substance, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of a substance (first offense, aggravated circumstance), possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and additional traffic violations.

The investigation is being led by Trooper Nathan Pedigo and Trooper Ethan Garrison of the Kentucky State Police and remains ongoing.

All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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