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Passenger dies after THP pursuit

Posted at 3:05 pm February 12, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The passenger has died after a two-vehicle crash during a police pursuit in Anderson County on Sunday, January 30.

It’s the second death after the police chase and fatal crash near the intersection of Mountain Road and Highway 441 at about 2 p.m. that Sunday. The driver, Elijah Morley of Dandridge, died after the crash.

On Wednesday, Dave Clark, Seventh Judicial District attorney general, said Morley’s passenger, Dustin Dienst of Morristown, died Tuesday night. He had been hospitalized since the crash.

A Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper, Austin Dean, was also injured in the crash. Clark said earlier that Dean was treated and released from a hospital.

The crash happened while the THP was pursuing the vehicle driven by Morley, Clark said. The pursuit continued along several roads before the vehicle being chased and the THP cruiser left the roadway and crashed.

On Wednesday, Clark said it could take several months to complete the investigation while investigators wait for blood toxicology reports, autopsy reports, and an accident reconstruction report.

“A comprehensive public report will be released by this office as soon as possible following receipt of the investigative materials,” Clark said.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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Filed Under: Anderson County, Front Page News, Police and Fire, Tennessee Tagged With: Anderson County, Austin Dean, crash, Dave Clark, Dustin Dienst, Elijah Morley, fatal crash, Tennessee Highway Patrol, THP

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