Rescuers respond to a single-vehicle crash off New Henderson Road and into deep water near Bull Run Park on Wednesday evening, March 8, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
CLAXTON—The 38-year-old Knoxville man who crashed a car into Bull Run Creek on Wednesday night is facing charges that include driving under the influence, theft of more than $1,000, stolen license and due care violations, and a charge of no driver’s license, authorities said.
Darrell W. Bouck Jr. had minor injuries, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said in a preliminary crash report. It’s not known if he was using a seat belt.
The car he was driving was a 2001 Infiniti I30. The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said the vehicle had been reported stolen to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.
The THP report said Bouck was driving north on New Henderson Road in Claxton and “failed to maintain the lane of travel.” He and the Infiniti went off the two-lane roadway, which runs parallel to a wide river-like section of Bull Run Creek, and struck two wooden barrier posts. There are barrier posts on the shoulder of the road, which is up an embankment from the creek.
The car then rolled over and entered the water, the THP said. The crash was reported at about 7:53 p.m., according to the THP report.
Two witnesses pulled Bouck from the river, the THP said. The two men have been reported to have been working at a nearby home.
When Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrived, the driver was found lying on the embankment near the water, Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.
Divers from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Anderson County Rescue Squad, and Knoxville Volunteer Rescue Squad checked the car and surrounding area in the water, but no other occupants were found, according to Lucas and Claxton Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Dusty Sharpe and Lieutenant Mike Dabney.
Authorities said Bouck was not initially alert. He was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, Dabney said.
Authorities found two identifications after the single-vehicle crash, so they spent several hours searching the water with the help of divers in order to confirm that no was else was injured or trapped in the car.
The car was found about 35 feet from shore, Sharpe said. It was completely submerged. The visibility in the cold water was about 18 inches. Rescuers were able to pull out the car, with the help of divers, at about 10:30 p.m.
The car was reported to be found in about 15 feet of water.
The crash occurred just downstream of Bull Run Park, or just to the left of the park in the map below.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
See previous story on the crash here.
The Anderson County Rescue Squad searches for a vehicle that went off New Henderson Road and plunged into deep water near Bull Run Park on Wednesday evening, March 8, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Dive rescue teams check for other submerged occupants of a vehicle near Bull Run Park in Claxton after a car crashed off New Henderson Road and into Bull Run Creek on Wednesday evening, March 8, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
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