Oak Ridge Today

Juvenile driver taken to hospital after crashing into trees while airborne

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A Subaru Outback station wagon went off Delaware Avenue and appeared to have crashed into trees while airborne at a house at Dixie Lane on Thursday evening, April 13, 2017. (Photo by Mark Boatner)

A Subaru Outback went off Delaware Avenue and appeared to have crashed into trees while airborne at a house at Dixie Lane on Thursday evening, April 13, 2017. (Photo by Mark Boatner)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:15 p.m.

A Subaru Outback went off Delaware Avenue and appeared to have crashed into trees while airborne at a house at Dixie Lane on Thursday evening.

The juvenile female driver was taken to the hospital. She was already out of the car when Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi arrived, and a neighbor who heard the crash said the girl was able to walk to an ambulance stretcher.

The Oak Ridge Police Department said it appeared that the girl’s seat belt and air bag likely saved her life. The station wagon came to rest in a spot where the windshield was just a few feet away from a tree in front of the driver, which could have been dangerous if she had been ejected. There is a house on the other side of Dixie Lane, if the car had continued traveling forward. [Read more…]

Updated: Four lawsuits filed after fatal July 4 parking lot crash

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Pictured above during a hearing on lawsuits filed against Lee Cromwell, second from left, are attorneys Jason Fisher, left James Y. "Bo" Reed, second from right; and Bruce Fox. Personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against Cromwell, 68, an Oak Ridge resident convicted of vehicular homicide and eight counts of aggravated assault for a fatal crash in a crowded parking lot at Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015. The hearing was Wednesday, April 12, 2017, in Anderson County Circuit Court in Clinton. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Pictured above during a hearing on four lawsuits filed against Lee Cromwell, second from left, are attorneys Jason Fisher, left; James Y. “Bo” Reed, second from right; and Bruce Fox. Personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against Cromwell, 67, an Oak Ridge resident convicted in February of vehicular homicide and eight counts of aggravated assault in a fatal crash in a crowded parking lot at Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015. The hearing on the lawsuits was Wednesday morning, April 12, 2017, in Anderson County Circuit Court in Clinton. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11 a.m. April 13.

CLINTON—Four lawsuits, including personal injury and wrongful death complaints, have been filed against Lee Cromwell, the Oak Ridge man convicted of vehicular homicide and aggravated assault in February after a fatal crash in a crowded parking lot at Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015. The four lawsuits seek up to about $7.5 million in damages. The amount could be larger because one of the lawsuits doesn’t specify a damage amount.

Three of the lawsuits have been settled or are pending settlement, attorney James Y. “Bo” Reed of Knoxville said in a hearing in Anderson County Circuit Court in Clinton on Wednesday morning. Reed represents Cromwell, 67, in the civil cases.

The terms of the settlements haven’t been publicly disclosed. One of the settlements, in the case of Janicia Henderson and four children, is listed in Anderson County Criminal Court Clerk records, but it remains under seal because there are juveniles involved.

A trial date has been scheduled for October 25 in the case that hasn’t been settled or where a settlement isn’t pending. That’s a civil complaint, a personal injury lawsuit, filed by Michael Eldridge and his wife Elizabeth Eldridge of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Man indicted on reckless homicide charge in death of Lauren Fritts

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Troy Andrew Venable

Troy Andrew Venable

 

An Oak Ridge man has been indicted on a reckless homicide charge in the death of an Oak Ridge High School graduate and former goalkeeper for the Lady Wildcats who was, at the time of her death, the member and customer service representative at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

Lauren Alexandra Fritts, 26, died Saturday, October 8, 2016, according to her obituary.

Troy Andrew Venable, 28, was indicted on the reckless homicide charge in her death on Tuesday, April 4. He was arrested Friday afternoon and released about four hours later from the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton. His bond has been set at $25,000. [Read more…]

Driver who died in Monday crash was Oliver Springs resident

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The driver who died in the Monday afternoon crash on State Route 95 in southwest Oak Ridge has been identified as Ralph Connor, age 78, of Oliver Springs, authorities said.

The crash remains under investigation, and no other details are being released right now, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release Tuesday.

Connor was driving a red Mercury Sable south on State Route 95 at about 1:57 p.m. Monday when he reportedly crossed the center line and hit a semi truck trailer.

Connor was taken by ambulance to Fort Loudoun Medical Center in Lenoir City, where he later died from his injuries, the City of Oak Ridge said Monday. The Sable had a disabled driver or passenger license plate, although it wasn’t clear if Connor had a medical issue before the crash.

The crash was on a hilly, curvy section of road near the entrance to the TRU Waste Processing Center north of Interstate 40. The area is south of the western entrance to Oak Ridge National Laboratory. [Read more…]

State asks for 11-year sentence in fatal July 4 parking lot crash

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Lee Harold Cromwell, 68, of Oak Ridge, has been charged with vehicular homicide and eight counts of aggravated assault in a fatal parking lot crash at the Midtown Community Center in Oak Ridge after fireworks on July 4, 2015. Cromwell has been on trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton, starting Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, and continuing through Wednesday, Feb. 15. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Lee Harold Cromwell, 67, of Oak Ridge, was convicted of vehicular homicide and eight counts of aggravated assault in a fatal parking lot crash at the Midtown Community Center in Oak Ridge after fireworks on July 4, 2015. Cromwell was convicted at the end of a three-day jury trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton, starting Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, and continuing through Wednesday, Feb. 15. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—Prosecutors have asked for an effective 11-year sentence for the Oak Ridge man convicted of one count of vehicular homicide and eight counts of aggravated assault in the fatal parking lot crash at Midtown Community Center after fireworks on July 4, 2015.

The crash killed a father of two, James Robinson, 37, of Knoxville, who was trying to push his daughters to safety, and it injured eight others. It’s one of the worst crashes anyone can remember in Oak Ridge.

Lee Harold Cromwell, 67, was convicted of the vehicular homicide and aggravated assault charges after a three-day trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton in February, and he was scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday. But the sentencing hearing was postponed because Cromwell did not want private attorney James Scott representing him anymore. A public defender has been appointed instead.

A new date hasn’t been set yet for the rescheduled sentencing hearing. The public defender will need time to review the case and the transcript of the three-day trial in mid-February before he or she can represent Cromwell at sentencing. [Read more…]

Cromwell sentencing delayed as public defender appointed

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Lee Cromwell

Lee Cromwell

Note: This story was last updated at 12 p.m. April 12.

CLINTON—The sentencing hearing for Lee Harold Cromwell, who has been convicted of vehicular homicide for a fatal parking lot crash after fireworks in 2015, was postponed Tuesday after Cromwell said he no longer wanted attorney James Scott to represent him.

A public defender will be appointed, although the public defender will need time to review the case and the trial transcript. It’s not clear when the rescheduled sentencing hearing will be held, but it could be this summer.

Scott had represented Cromwell in court hearings, including a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge in January 2016 and a three-day trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton in February 2017.

In court papers, Cromwell has called Scott incompetent and ineffective. On Tuesday, Scott entered Anderson County Criminal Court before the sentencing hearing and asked Cromwell if he wanted to go into a back room and talk, an attorney-client conference. [Read more…]

City Council agrees to give $30K per year for five years to General Sessions Court

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The Oak Ridge City Council agreed on Monday, April 10, 2017, to contribute $30,000 per year for five years to continue operating Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. The interior of the current courthouse on Bus Terminal Road is pictured above. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council agreed on Monday to contribute $30,000 per year for five years to continue operating Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

The money will be used for court operations and capital costs for Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge.

Council approved the funding in a 6-0 vote, with Council member Hans Vogel absent.

The city and the Oak Ridge City Council have supporting having the General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge since it started in 1993, according to City Manager Mark Watson.

“We believe that it is important to have that here,” Watson said. “It does save us a little bit of time.” [Read more…]

Driver dies after crash on State Route 95

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A driver died after a crash on State Route 95 near the entrance to the TRU Waste Processing Center north of Interstate 40 on Monday afternoon, April 10, 2017. One vehicle, the dark-colored Saturn Astra at right, went off the road. A second vehicle, the red Mercury Sable in the middle of the road, was reported to have crossed the center line and hit a truck trailer, pictured down the hill at left. The TRU Center is up the hill to the right. This picture is taken facing north. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A driver died after a crash on State Route 95 near the entrance to the TRU Waste Processing Center north of Interstate 40 on Monday afternoon, April 10, 2017. One vehicle, the dark-colored Saturn Astra at right, went off the road. A second vehicle, the red Mercury Sable in the middle of the road, was reported to have crossed the center line and hit a truck trailer, pictured down the hill at left. The TRU Center is up the hill to the right. This picture is taken facing north. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 8 p.m.

The driver of a four-door sedan that crossed over the center line on State Route 95 and hit a semi truck trailer died from his injuries at a hospital, authorities said Monday.

The crash was reported at about 1:57 p.m. Monday in a hilly, curvy section of road near the entrance to the TRU Waste Processing Center north of Interstate 40. The area is south of the western entrance to Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The driver of the red Mercury Sable sedan, which was southbound, was taken by ambulance to Fort Loudoun Medical Center in Lenoir City, where he later died from his injuries, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. The Sable had a disabled driver or passenger license plate, although it wasn’t clear if the driver had a medical issue before the crash.

A third vehicle involved in the crash, a dark-colored Saturn Astra car, went off the roadway from the northbound lane, but did not hit the Mercury Sable sedan or the semi truck, the press release said. No other injuries were reported. [Read more…]

Gilmore indicted on homicide charge in crash that killed Roane school employee

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Vickie Gay Gilmore, 62, of Oak Ridge, has been indicted on charges of vehicular homicide and driving under the influence, among other charges, in the death of Christy Duncan, a 37-year-old Harriman mother and Roane County Schools employee, in a three-vehicle crash at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Jefferson Avenue on Friday, May 6, 2016. Gilmore is pictured above in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on Thursday, Sept. 29. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Christy Duncan

Christy Duncan

Note: This story was last updated at 11:15 a.m. April 10.

An Oak Ridge woman has been indicted on charges of vehicular homicide and driving under the influence in the death of a 37-year-old Harriman mother and Roane County Schools employee in a three-vehicle crash in May.

The vehicular homicide charge alleges Vickie Gay Gilmore, 62, was driving recklessly in the crash that killed Christy Duncan, 37, of Harriman.

Gilmore has also been charged with reckless aggravated assault for injuring Duncan’s daughter Janna, who was four years old at the time of the May 6 crash at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Jefferson Avenue.

Gilmore has also been charged with reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon (a motor vehicle), reckless driving, and leaving the scene of an accident. She has an arraignment scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, April 28, in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton.

The indictments were filed Tuesday by the Anderson County Grand Jury in Clinton. [Read more…]

City to consider giving $30,000 per year to General Sessions Court

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Anderson-County-General-Sessions-Court-Interior-Oak-Ridge-Nov-19-2015

The 18-month lease on the Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, on Bus Terminal Road in Oak Ridge expires in June, and Anderson County commissioners are taking steps to move the court to a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road. The interior of the courthouse on Bus Terminal Road is pictured above. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider approving $30,000 in funding per year for five years for the Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge.

The money would be used for court operations and capital costs. Council will consider the funding during its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, April 10, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.

Anderson County commissioners have cited the expected Oak Ridge contribution in their discussions of keeping the court in Oak Ridge and moving it from a private building on Bus Terminal Road to a county-owed building on Emory Valley Road.

The City of Oak Ridge and the Oak Ridge City Council have supported having the General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge since its start on February 1, 1993, City Manager Mark Watson said in an April 4 memo to Council members. [Read more…]

Crisis intervention training helps save life in Rocky Top

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Twenty law enforcement personnel graduated from Crisis Intervention Team, or CIT, training on March 10, 2017. The graduates represented Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, Rocky Top Police Department, Anderson County Corrections Office, and Blount Memorial Security. (Submitted photo)

Twenty law enforcement personnel graduated from Crisis Intervention Team, or CIT, training on March 10, 2017. The graduates represented Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, Rocky Top Police Department, Anderson County Corrections Office, and Blount Memorial Security. (Submitted photo)

 

Twenty law enforcement personnel graduated from Crisis Intervention Team, or CIT, training on March 10. The graduates represented Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, Rocky Top Police Department, Anderson County Corrections Office, and Blount Memorial Security.

CIT is an innovative first-responder model of police-based crisis intervention with community, health care, and advocacy partnerships. CIT provides 40 hours of specialized training for problem solving and de-escalating crisis situations with individuals who have a mental illness. Studies show it also improves the safety of patrol officers, consumers, family members, and citizens within the community, a press release said.

“Thanks to the partnership between the Oak Ridge City Police Department, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Ridgeview Behavioral Health, NAMI Oak Ridge, the Mental Health Association of East Tennessee, and other community health advocates, our community has better equipped itself with first responders who have an effective set of communication and problem solving skills,” Oak Ridge Police Department Chief James Akagi said in his opening remarks.

So far, the East Tennessee Crisis Intervention Team has trained more than 180 law enforcement personnel, the press release said. [Read more…]

Assault, endangerment charges related to heroin overdose waived to grand jury

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Heather Marie Rau

Heather Marie Rau

Aggravated assault and reckless endangerment charges filed against an Oak Ridge woman after a heroin overdose in February were waived to the Anderson County Grand Jury on Tuesday.

Heather Marie Rau, 29, had a status hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on Tuesday afternoon.

She is accused of providing heroin to a man who ended up unconscious on a hallway floor in a home on West Outer Drive at about 3 p.m. February 16. Rau told Oak Ridge Police Department Detective John R. Criswell that she warned the man, Wesley “Bud” Arnold, not to “shoot it,” or inject the heroin, because she knew what she had given him could possibly kill him, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

Warrants said the heroin had already killed one man and caused Rau to overdose. [Read more…]