A truck driver from Mosheim was killed early Monday when the tractor-trailer he was driving left U.S. Highway 25E in Grainger County, crashed through a guardrail and plunged down a steep embankment.

A Tennessee Highway Patrol dispatcher identified the victim as Robert D. Tanner, 49, of Mosheim.

According to a report filed by Trooper Bobby Bullington, Tanner was driving a 1999 Freightliner tractor-trailer loaded with auto parts north on U.S. 25E near its intersection with Kincaid Farm Road in the Thorn Hill community when the fatal accident occurred about 3:15 a.m. Monday.

This morning, a THP dispatcher said Trooper Bullington's report said the truck went off the right side of the road, crashed through a guardrail and traveled down a steep embankment before coming to rest.

Tanner was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, but still suffered fatal injuries, the THP dispatcher said.