Man killed in single vehicle accident

From Staff Reports

   A single vehicle accident claimed the life of a 25-year-old Watauga man Sunday night, continuing a rash of recent area fatalities as a result of automobile wrecks.
   Richard S. Kyker II, of 119 Rocky Top Drive, Lot #6, Watauga, Tenn., was driving west on State Route 400 at a high rate of speed around midnight, according to Tennessee Highway Patrol officers.
   Kyker lost control of his car, which left the right side of the road near Brick Christian Church then struck a steel guardrail and barrelled over a 15-foot embankment. The vehicle eventually came to rest on a barbed wire fence. The driver was partially ejected and there were no passengers, according to the THP.
   Tennessee Highway Patrol investigator Mark Musick is in charge of the investigation. Alcohol was a factor in the incident and the driver was not wearing his seatbelt at the time the accident occurred, according to THP officials.