FAYETTE COUNTY, Tenn. — A woman was found dead in a ditch following an ATV wreck on Old Soloman Mill Road in Fayette County, authorities say.
The Fayette County Sheriff’s Department said the woman was riding a four-wheeler Tuesday night when she appears to have lost control.
The victim is 28-year-old Felisa Ferguson, and she was last heard from around 11:30 Tuesday night, when she texted a friend or family member.
Her body was discovered around 7 Wednesday morning by a passing motorist.
Deputies said they went by Ferguson’s house and discovered two small children, ages 5 and 1, had been left home alone overnight. The children were given to Department of Children’s Services workers, and they were healthy when deputies found them.
Deputies believe Ferguson and her children were living by themselves. They said most of her family lives out of state. They also said the children have different fathers and neither live close.
Investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the crash and at this point, they don’t know if alcohol was a factor. Either way, they say it’s dangerous to ride an ATV in the area, which has no lighting and lots of winding gravel roads.
“Anytime you have an accidental death it’s tragic, but this is a young person who had two small children so, obviously, that hits home for a lot of the deputies who work here,” said Ray Garcia with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department.
Jerry Howell was Ferguson’s neighbor. He never talked with her but feels like he kind of knew her.
“I’d see her sitting on the porch. Sometimes I would see the children out in the yard playing,” Howell said. “I’ll miss her on the porch when I go through you know?”
DCS is going to find a relative to take custody of the children.
