A Fort Campbell soldier, hit and killed by three cars as he ran onto a federal highway at night, was being chased, as he told his girlfriend in a telephone call, officials said.
But the aggressors in the Sunday night incident were bees, Cheatham County Sheriff Mike Breedlove said Monday.
The 21-year-old man was walking home from a party "very intoxicated, or on drugs," Breedlove said. He had tried to break into a landscaping company when something fell on him, trapping him.
A toxicology report has not yet been released. The man, whose name was not released, called his girlfriend and then called 911 to say he was being chased, the sheriff said.
He ran onto U.S. 41A, and a car struck him. Then two other cars also hit him in the dark.
"He got into a beehive," Breedlove said. "That's what our investigation shows, that it's bees that were chasing him and stinging him."
Pleasant View is about 20 miles southeast of Clarksville, Tenn., which adjoins the Army base.
Follow Max R. Smith on Twitter: @maxrsmith217
