Oak Ridge Today

Man charged with reckless aggravated assault after crash seriously injures two, causes SUV to roll

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Matthew R. Gibson

Matthew R. Gibson

Note: This story was updated at 2:35 p.m. Jan. 25.

A 72-year-old Oak Ridge man has been charged with reckless aggravated assault after he allegedly drove at high speed in a pickup truck on a residential street, ignored a stop sign, and collided with a sport utility vehicle, causing it to roll and seriously injuring two people inside, authorities said.

Matthew R. Gibson, of South Purdue Avenue, was also cited for not having his driver’s license and for a stop sign violation.

His bond on the reckless aggravated assault charge was set at $20,000, and he remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Sunday morning.

The two-vehicle crash was reported at about 2:45 p.m. Saturday, January 16, at the intersection of Manhattan and North Purdue avenues in the Woodland neighborhood, behind Food City. [Read more…]

Mail carrier shaken up, but not injured, when tree falls on delivery truck

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A mail carrier was shaken up but not injured when a tree fell on her delivery truck in west Oak Ridge on Friday morning, Jan. 22, 2016, officials said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A mail carrier was shaken up but not injured when a large tree fell on her delivery truck in west Oak Ridge on Friday morning, officials said.

The mail carrier was in her vehicle delivering mail on Mohawk Road when the tree fell on it at about 10:10 a.m. Friday, said David Walton, spokesman for the Tennessee district of the United States Postal Service.

The carrier was able to get out of the vehicle, but the tree had to be cut before the truck could be moved, Walton said.

The delivery vehicle was towed back to the Post Office, where the mail was unloaded onto another vehicle. Another carrier then finished the route. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge police advise residents to avoid driving this afternoon

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The Oak Ridge Police Department has advised residents to avoid driving on Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 20, 2016. (Photo from Oak Ridge Police Department via Facebook)

 

The Oak Ridge Police Department has advised residents to avoid driving this afternoon.

The police said the following areas are impassable:

  • North Illinois Avenue at West Outer Drive (Hilltop),
  • South Illinois Avenue at Lafayette Drive,
  • South Illinois Avenue at Centrifuge Way,
  • Newport Drive, and
  • Pennsylvania Avenue.

Several inches of snow fell in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, and roads became slipperier as the snow accumulated.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Roads becoming slipperier as snow continues to fall

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Roads in Oak Ridge are becoming slipperier as snow continues to accumulate. Above, an Oak Ridge snow plow is pictured at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Administration Road at about 11 a.m. Wednesday morning, Jan. 20, 2016. Heavy snow continued to fall about 1.5 hours later. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 2:30 p.m.

Roads in Oak Ridge became slipperier on Wednesday morning as snow continued to fall.

There were slick spots on well-traveled roads such as New York Avenue, Tyler and Administration roads, and even Oak Ridge Turnpike at about 11 a.m. Wednesday. And a heavy snow continued to fall about an hour later.

Oak Ridge Today drove around central Oak Ridge for about an hour between 10 and 11 a.m. Wednesday while taking pictures, and the roads became noticeably slicker as snow accumulated. We measured about three-quarters of an inch of snow in a parking lot at the Oak Ridge Civic Center at about 10:15 a.m. A few hours later, there was a little more than two inches on the ground on a city side street.

Most people appeared to be driving cautiously Wednesday morning as schools and some government offices and businesses decided to close. [Read more…]

Four people injured after SUV rolls in two-vehicle crash

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Manhattan-North-Purdue-Crash-Jan-16-2016

Four people were injured in a two-vehicle crash that caused an SUV to roll at the intersection of Manhattan and North Purdue avenues in Woodland on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 16, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Four people were injured and one of them was flown to a hospital by a medical helicopter after a two-vehicle crash caused an SUV to roll at the intersection of Manhattan and North Purdue avenues on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

The crash behind Food City was reported at about 2:45 p.m. Saturday. It took emergency workers about 30 minutes to remove a passenger trapped in the back seat of the GMC Envoy that rolled onto its top. The other vehicle was a Ford F150 pickup truck.

Three ambulances responded to the scene. So did the Oak Ridge Police Department and Oak Ridge Fire Department. A University of Tennessee Lifestar medical helicopter picked up one patient at Methodist Medical Center and flew that person to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. [Read more…]

No one injured after vehicle rolls in two-vehicle crash

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No one was injured in a two-vehicle crash that caused one vehicle to roll onto its top at the intersection of Athens and Atlanta roads on Friday evening, Jan. 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

No one was injured in a two-vehicle crash that caused one vehicle to roll onto its top at the intersection of Athens and Atlanta roads on Friday evening, authorities said.

The two vehicles, a white Kia Sportage and a white Chevrolet Equinox, were reportedly traveling in opposite directions on Atlanta Road when the westbound Kia reportedly turned south onto Athens Road in front of the Equinox, authorities said.

The Kia came to rest against a utility pole, but emergency workers said the pole was not damaged. The Kia had to be towed away on a tow truck, while the Equinox was still able to be driven.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Man shot in ear by resident with handgun during burglary early Friday, police say

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Eddie Joe Kimblin

Eddie Joe Kimblin

 

Note: This story was last updated at 6:20 p.m.

A Harriman man was shot in the ear by a resident with a handgun during a burglary on Jefferson Avenue in Oak Ridge early Friday morning, police said.

Police responded to the home at about 12:27 a.m. Friday, January 15, after receiving a report of shots fired.

They leaned that Eddie Joe Kimblin, 47 of Blair Road in Harriman, had attempted to gain entry into the Jefferson Avenue home, an Oak Ridge Police Department press release said.

The resident had heard someone banging on his basement door and went to investigate, the release said. When he opened the door, Kimblin allegedly lunged toward him. The resident then shot a handgun at the intruder, striking Kimblin in the ear, the release said. [Read more…]

July 4 fireworks crash: Charges against driver, including homicide, sent to grand jury

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The 17 charges against an Oak Ridge man accused of killing one person and injuring 11 others in a July 4 fireworks crash at Midtown Community Center have been sent to an Anderson County grand jury. The charges against Lee Cromwell of Oak Ridge, who is pictured above, include homicide and aggravated assault. Cromwell had a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:18 p.m. Jan. 16.

The 17 charges against an Oak Ridge man accused of killing one person and injuring 11 others in a July 4 fireworks crash at Midtown Community Center have been sent to an Anderson County grand jury.

The charges against Lee Cromwell of Oak Ridge include homicide and aggravated assault. Cromwell had a five-hour preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Friday, January 15. It included testimony for the prosecution from victims, witnesses, police officers, and an automotive technician. Prosecutor Vickie Bannach was trying to establish probable cause for the charges to be sent to the grand jury.

The next step is for the Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office to present evidence to the grand jury for possible indictments against Cromwell.

Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller said he found that probable cause had been met for the charges to be bound over to the grand jury. There is no timeline for when the grand jury might hear the case. [Read more…]

Police dispute stuck-throttle claim in fatal July 4 fireworks crash, widow testifies also

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Ben-Higgins-General-Sessions-Court-Jan-15-2016

Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins testified on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, during a preliminary hearing for Lee Cromwell, an Oak Ridge resident accused of killing one person and injuring 11 others during a parking lot crash at the Midtown Community Center on July 4, 2015, after fireworks at A.K. Bissell Park. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8 a.m. Jan. 16.

An Oak Ridge police officer on Friday disputed the claim that the throttle might have been stuck on a pickup truck in a fatal July 4 crash at Midtown Community Center immediately after fireworks in A.K. Bissell Park.

Police say they’ve found no evidence of a malfunction in a Dodge Ram pickup driven backward through the crowded parking lot that night by Lee Cromwell of Oak Ridge, and there were no active recalls on the truck that would have affected the throttle. Police also used witness statements to help refute the stuck-throttle theory during a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Friday, January 15.

“Several of them (witnesses) said they heard his engine revving up and down,” Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins testified during the hearing. “If the throttle had been stuck, it would have been stuck at a consistent rpm, not up and down.”

Also Friday morning, Julia Robinson testified. She is the widow of the 37-year-old man who died, James Robinson of Knoxville. The couple was at the Midtown Community Center watching fireworks with their two daughters and a relative. [Read more…]

No one injured in electrical fire on Montana Avenue

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No one was injured in a fire on Montana Avenue on Thursday morning, Jan. 14, 2016. The fire appeared to have started on the home’s main electrical panel, which is in the garage, authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:11 p.m.

No one was injured in a fire on Montana Avenue on Thursday morning that appeared to have started on the home’s main electrical panel, which is in the garage.

The fire was reported at about 10:44 a.m. Thursday.

“I had just come home from the store, and all of a sudden, I hear this loud roaring sound like wind,” homeowner Shirley McClain said.

But she couldn’t find the source of the noise. [Read more…]

Four young adults indicted in alleged plot to rob a woman for rent money

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Raymond R. Gray

Raymond R. Gray

Four young Oak Ridge adults have been indicted in an alleged plot to rob a woman for rent money.

The alleged armed robbery occurred on Highland Avenue at about midnight April 1, 2015, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins said in warrants filed last year in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

The victim said three men who had their faces covered robbed her at gunpoint and fled in a black Chevy sedan, the warrants said. The victim followed them north on Highland Avenue.

ORPD Officer Ray Steakley located the car at the intersection of State Route 61 and State Route 62, and he pulled over the car on Midway Road in Oliver Springs.

Christopher D. Ramsey

Christopher D. Ramsey

One of the defendants, Whitney T. Stewart, 22, of Oak Ridge, was driving, Higgins said. The other three co-defendants—Raymond R. Gray, 21; Christopher D. Ramsey, 21; and Tevin M. Springs, 20; all of Oak Ridge—were in the car, Higgins said.

The four were arrested after the alleged robbery last year and charged with aggravated robbery and criminal conspiracy.

They were indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on Tuesday, January 5. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge man indicted for reckless homicide

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William Brent James

William Brent James

An Oak Ridge man has been indicted for reckless homicide in the death of another man in November 2014.

William Brent James, 19, of Warrior Circle, was indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on January 5 and arrested Friday, January 9, by Oak Ridge Police Department Detective Kevin Craig.

The indictment alleged James “unlawfully and recklessly” killed Michael William James on or around November 27, 2014. It wasn’t immediately clear if the two men are related.

James has an arraignment scheduled for January 29.

He remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Wednesday afternoon. His bond has been set at $25,000, according to jail records.

More information will be added as it becomes available.