PAINTSVILLE, KY. — The Paintsville Police Department, Paintsville Fire Department, and Paintsville EMS responded to a three-vehicle crash on Route 40 early Thursday morning.

According to Paintsville Police Assistant Chief Danny Smith, the driver of a Crown Vic was traveling East on Kentucky Route 40 when he apparently lost control of his vehicle, clipped the back of another vehicle, then crashed into a Ford Expedition that contained 3 passengers.

52-year-old Robert Lee Meade of Hager Hill was pronounced deceased at the scene by Johnson County Coroner JR Frisby while the three occupants of the Expedition were transported by Paintsville EMS to Paul B Hall Regional Medical Center with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.

No further details have been released at this time. This crash is an ongoing investigation led by Assistant Chief Smith. Mountain Top News will continue to provide updates on this investigation.