One airlifted to UT hospital after two-vehicle rollover crash

 

Note: This story was updated at 12:36 a.m. Feb. 28.

OLIVER SPRINGS—The driver of a Jeep SUV that turned over was airlifted to a hospital in Knoxville after a two-vehicle crash on Harriman Highway just west of Oliver Springs on Friday evening.

The crash between the Jeep and a Dodge Ram pickup occurred at about 6:30 p.m. Friday on Harriman Highway (Highway 61) near Scandlyn Hollow Road in Roane County.

The Jeep’s driver was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, said Tennessee Highway Patrol Lieutenant Lucious Howard. The driver was later identified, after his family had been notified, as Joshua Brown, 33, of Oliver Springs. His condition was unknown early Saturday morning.

Fire photographer Tom Scott said an extensive operation by the Roane County Rescue Squad, the Blair Fire Department, and the Oliver Springs Fire Department was required to extricate Brown, who was transported to a landing site near the Kellytown Baptist Church by Anderson County Emergency Medical Services, where he was evacuated by a LifeStar helicopter.

Howard said the driver of the pickup truck appeared to be okay, with some minor injuries such as scratches. The passenger in the Jeep also was okay, although she had a minor injury to one of her hands, said Trooper Kevin Jones. But it’s possible that the two could be checked out later by a medical professional.

The THP said the westbound Jeep appeared to have crossed the center line before the crash. Jones said it was almost all the way into the eastbound lane.

Both vehicles sustained extensive damage and were mangled, but the pickup truck was hit on the passenger side in what Howard described as a “glancing blow.”

“It was kind of head-on but almost like a sideswipe,” Jones said.

Traffic on the Harriman Highway was diverted to the Old Harriman Highway while the crash was investigated and the roadway cleared.

More information will be added as it becomes available.