Germantown man killed in I-440 crash remembered
As a player on the soccer field, he was competitive. As a coach, he mentored many.
Chester Linebarier III, 31, loved his family, his dogs and making an impact on developing soccer players, his mother Denise Linebarier said last week.
He was killed on May 24 in a one-car crash on Interstate 440 in Nashville, according to Metro Nashville police.
“It’s a shock to everyone, but we are just trying to be strong,” his brother Corbin Linebarier, 29, said.
Hours after his mother received the news of her eldest son’s death, she rushed to Nashville with her husband and youngest son.
“They would not let us see him when we went to Nashville,” she said. “He had a lot of head trauma from the accident.”
Chester Linebarier III moved to Nashville about five months ago to pursue a job opportunity, longtime friend Ted Bartels said. It was a tough decision for him because he lived most of his life in Germantown. His mother said he still drove home to visit frequently.
He traveled to Memphis last on May 19 to participate in the River City for IttyBitties Soccer Tournament, which benefits the March of Dimes and the Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital Neuroscience Institute.
His sister, Ellison Lawhead recognized soccer was a large part of his life and established a fund to create a soccer tournament in his name.
“I think if Ches were looking down on us he would say this is the greatest thing ever,” his mother said. “To be recognized as a great soccer player.”