Adam Tamburin

atamburin@tennessean.com

Neighbors clustered along the edges of McGavock Pike Wednesday, sharing photos and shaking their heads as they peered at the aftermath of a horrific tractor-trailer crash that claimed the life of a woman who was asleep in her bed.

In whispers, they tried to piece together the sequence of events that led an 18-wheeler hauling 40,000 pounds of pumpkins to veer across the two-lane roadway and break through the brick facade of a modest house near the intersection with Kimberly Drive in Donelson. The semi slammed into Carol Boo's bedroom around 3:30 a.m.

Boo, 66, was dead by the time police arrived at the scene.

Her husband, who was sleeping in the adjoining bedroom, wasn't hurt. Neither was her 35-year-old son, who was in another part of the house.

Firefighters were called in to help her husband navigate the mangled wreckage.

For hours, the truck's cab was wedged in Boo's bedroom while the trailer stood upright in her front yard beside a weeping willow tree. When crews finally removed the truck, much of the house's front wall was gone and the roof sagged in like a hammock.

"The collision caused devastating damage to the home," Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said. "The home's totaled."

The truck driver, 34-year-old Leonard Wilson of Nashville, was not injured in the crash. He told police that he had been driving north on McGavock when the trailer began wobbling, according to a news release from police. He told officers he lost control before careening off the road.

"The overt evidence at the scene doesn't necessarily support that account," Aaron said.

Wilson did not show signs of impairment and was not immediately charged with a crime, although charges could be forthcoming.

Investigators took a blood sample for analysis. Aaron said investigators with the police department and Tennessee Highway Patrol would turn their files over to the district attorney's office for consideration.

Boo's family gathered at their shattered home Wednesday to grieve while sifting through rubble. A family member said they were too overwhelmed to talk.

Friend Holly Carter was part of Boo's church family at The Fellowship at Two Rivers. She was still grappling with the fact that the woman she knew as "Momma Boo" was gone.

"She truly was a Nashville mom for me," Carter said in a phone interview. "My babies were her grandbabies."

Boo served as a surrogate grandmother for many children in the Two Rivers congregation. She was a staple in the church nursery, where she rocked babies in her arms during church services.

She had a way of putting young mothers at ease, Carter said.

"She looked you in the eye and you just knew that she truly cared about you," Carter said. "Nashville is such a revolving door, but she was always a constant for us."

Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-726-5986 and on Twitter @tamburintweets.