Vickie Gay Gilmore
Note: This story was last updated at 10:51 a.m.
An Oak Ridge woman has been charged with vehicular homicide and driving under the influence after a fatal crash that killed a 37-year-old mother on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Friday, authorities said.
The three-vehicle crash was reported at about 9:47 p.m. Friday, May 6, at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Jefferson Avenue.
When they arrived, officers attempted to immediately extricate the driver of one vehicle, Christy Duncan, 37 of Harriman, and her 4-year-old daughter from their vehicle, which was severely damaged, according to the Oak Ridge Police Department.
Both victims were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where Duncan later succumbed to her injuries, the press release said. It said the 4-year-old is being treated for injuries. Another driver, Jason Watson, was uninjured.
Officers arrested the driver of the third vehicle involved in the crash, Vicky Gilmore, 61, of Oak Ridge. She reportedly drove erratically just prior to the crash, at one point driving on the sidewalk and striking a street sign near Kroger’s, as well as running the red light at South Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike, the press release said.
Gilmore was taken to the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, where she was charged with driving under the influence, violation of the implied consent law, vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to maintain a lane of travel, and reckless driving. ORPD and the Clinton Police Department assisted in the investigation, which remains open and ongoing.
A cashier working at a gas station near the intersection said she saw lights go by in a blur, with a vehicle “just flying” right before the crash Friday night.
“The next thing I knew, I heard a ‘ka-boom,'” said the cashier, who did not want to be identified by name.
A customer thought something had blown up in the store, the cashier said. She called 911.
Oak Ridge Turnpike was closed between Illinois and Louisiana avenues from just after 10 p.m. Friday until almost 2:30 a.m. Saturday, according to text alerts sent out by the Oak Ridge Police Department.
Gilmore has a prior arrest from March 23, 2010, for driving under the influence and possessing drugs without a prescription, according to Anderson County jail records.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
