Oak Ridge Today

Letter: Motorcyclist thanks medical responders, travelers, THP Trooper Kennedy

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Note: This letter was submitted by John Such. He was part of the motorcycle group involved in one of the two crashes that injured eight people on Interstate 75 near Rocky Top on Saturday morning.

I was part of the mororcycle group yesterday involved in the crash on I-75. The semi crash happened immediately after the bikes went down. Cars traveling southbound stopped to either look and/or offer assistance to our riders down. The semi that was unable to stop crashed into traffic that had slowed down or stopped.

I can’t thank all those medical responders and travelers who offered hope, encouragement, water—anything they could to comfort all those in need. [Read more…]

Eight injured in motorcycle, car-semi crashes on I-75 in Anderson County

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ut-lifestar-helicopters-on-i-75-in-anderson-county-sept-20-2016-2

The UT Lifestar II helicopter and Lifestar IV helicopter are pictured at top right and bottom left on Interstate 75 in Anderson County on Saturday morning, Sept. 10, 2016, after one crash involving four motorcycles and another involving a semi and two other vehicles were reported. Authorities said eight people were injured in the two crashes. (Photo courtesy UT Lifestar)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:10 p.m. Sept. 11.

Six people were injured in one crash involving four motorcycles and two more were injured in a second crash involving two vehicles and a semi on Interstate 75 in Anderson County on Saturday morning, authorities said.

The two crashes occurred about 30 minutes apart in the northbound and southbound lanes of I-75 near mile marker 127, near Rocky Top (the former Lake City).

Two University of Tennessee Lifestar medical helicopters responded, and all four lanes were temporarily closed.

The first crash was reported at about 10:16 a.m, according to a Tennessee Highway Patrol preliminary crash report.

Four Harley Davidson motorcycles were traveling north in one lane of I-75 at mile marker 127 when the first motorcycle, a 2003 model driven by George Suver, 70, left the right shoulder and then swerved back into the lane, the THP said. [Read more…]

Man arrested after chases, alleged carjacking, stolen truck in Anderson, Campbell

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Joshua Lee Styles

Joshua Lee Styles

A Rocky Top man who had been involved in two recent police pursuits in Anderson County, including one chase after an alleged carjacking from a family member on Friday, was arrested in Campbell County on Monday after a vehicle and foot chase involving a stolen pickup truck, authorities said.

Joshua Lee Styles, 25, of Ross Cemetery Road in Rocky Top, was arrested Monday, October 5, by Campbell County deputies after the pursuit of the stolen truck and on numerous warrants from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, ACSD Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

He said Styles was originally wanted for a state probation violation.

The two pursuits with Anderson County deputies had occurred during the past week. [Read more…]

Norris Lake boating crash leaves operator in serious condition

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Norris Lake Boat Crash

TWRA Investigator Matt Majors stands at the engine’s lower unit, which was torn from the boat during an accident at Heatherly’s point on Norris Lake late Thursday night. The vessel traveled about 69 feet after striking the point. (Photo by TWRA)

 

LAFOLLETTE—A LaFollette boater remains in serious condition following a boating accident that happened on Norris Lake late Thursday night, authorities said.

Just before midnight, Jimmy Arnold, a 52-year-old white male from LaFollette, was operating an open bow 24-foot Chaparral boat on Norris Lake when the accident occurred just downstream of Shanghai Marina, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said.

According to witnesses on a nearby houseboat, Arnold, who was the vessel’s sole occupant, was headed to their location at Heatherly’s point when the vessel ran aground, sending it about 69 feet onto the point. Witnesses onboard the houseboat dialed 911. [Read more…]

Body of missing five-year-old boy found in pond near family home

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Olin Elwood Fitton

Olin Elwood Fitton

The body of the five-year-old boy who went missing Wednesday afternoon was found in a pond near his family’s home in Anderson County, authorities said.

Ground search teams working with K-9s tracked the missing child, Odin Elwood Fitton, to a pond in the creek near the family home on Brushy Valley Road, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

“Our dive team was called to search the water, and sadly, the child’s body was found,” Lucas said Wednesday night.

Odin was reported missing at about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, and ground and air searches began shortly after that. His family’s home is in the 1600 block of Brushy Valley Road near Interstate 75. [Read more…]

Robbery warrant against Bartley recalled, dismissed

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Kenneth Stuart Bartley

Kenneth Stuart Bartley

The aggravated robbery warrant against Kenneth Stuart Bartley has been recalled and dismissed, authorities said.

Bartley, 23, had been identified as a suspect in a Sunday morning robbery in Anderson County. The alleged robbery occurred shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday, June 14, at the Marathon Station on Lake City Highway near Rocky Top (the former Lake City).

But authorities said Bartley was located in Vienna, Virginia, on Sunday night, and his family said he had been in Virginia.

On Sunday evening, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said its investigators would travel to Vienna to interview Bartley and work with Virginia authorities to determine if “Bartley was indeed in Virginia at the time of (the Sunday morning) robbery.” [Read more…]

Update: Bartley located in Vienna, Va.

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Kenneth Stuart Bartley

Kenneth Stuart Bartley

Kenneth Bartley, who has been identified as a suspect in a Sunday morning robbery in Anderson County, was located in Vienna, Virginia, on Sunday night, authorities said.

“We are aware his family is saying he has been in Virginia,” Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. “Therefore, our investigators will be traveling there this evening (Sunday evening) to interview Bartley and work with Virginia authorities to determine if Bartley was indeed in Virginia at the time of this morning’s robbery. We will update everyone tomorrow (Monday, June 15) as to the results of the follow-up investigation.”

Bartley, 23, served time for homicide after a school shooting in Campbell County in 2005.

On Sunday afternoon, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said Bartley was the suspect in an armed robbery near Rocky Top on Sunday morning. The alleged robbery occurred shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday, June 14, at the Marathon Station on Lake City Highway near Rocky Top (the former Lake City). [Read more…]

Bartley wanted in aggravated robbery near Rocky Top, authorities say

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Kenneth Stuart Bartley

Kenneth Stuart Bartley

Kenneth Stuart Bartley, who served time for homicide after a school shooting in Campbell County in 2005, is the suspect in an armed robbery near Rocky Top on Sunday morning, authorities said.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said the alleged robbery occurred shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday, June 14, at the Marathon Station on Lake City Highway near Rocky Top (the former Lake City).

“The suspect entered the store, brandished a black handgun, and robbed the market of cash,” Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. “He was described as a white male with brown to black facial hair wearing glasses, black toboggan, black jacket, and blue jeans. No vehicle was seen leaving the store.” [Read more…]

Pilot robbery suspect arrested in Rocky Top

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Walter John Meachum

Walter John Meachum

A Caryville man suspected of robbing a Pilot Travel Center in east Knox County on Tuesday was arrested at a motel in Rocky Top in Anderson County on Wednesday, authorities said.

They said Walter John Meachum, 21, has been charged with aggravated robbery for an alleged armed robbery just before 2 a.m. Tuesday at the Pilot Travel Center at 1915 East Raccoon Valley Road in Knox County.

On Tuesday, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said the suspect was armed with a black and silver weapon, according to the initial investigation. Authorities said the suspect fled west on Raccoon Valley Road in a silver convertible with a black top after receiving an undisclosed amount of money from the business. He was described as wearing a skull mask, black hooded jacket, white shirt, and blue jeans at the time of the robbery.

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office said Meachum was arrested early Wednesday morning at the Scottish Inn in Rocky Top by its Major Crimes Unit in conjunction with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Campbell County Sheriff’s Office, and Rocky Top Police Department. As of Wednesday, Meachum was being held at the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility on a $20,000 bond. [Read more…]

Former TBI fugitive charged with kidnapping, murder of missing Campbell County woman

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Lonnie Vann

Lonnie Vann

KNOXVILLE–A former Top 10 fugitive who had been wanted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for armed robbery has now been charged with killing a woman who had been reported missing in Campbell County more than a month ago.

Lonnie Lee Vann, 44, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of kidnapping, the TBI said in a press release Wednesday, the same day a Campbell County grand jury returned the indictments.

At the request of 8th District Attorney General Jared Effler, TBI special agents, helped by investigators from the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies in East Tennessee, began investigating the disappearance of Rhonda Daugherty on December 4. The 49-year woman went missing from her home on December 2. [Read more…]

TBI: Robbery suspect on most wanted list captured in Myrtle Beach

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Lonnie Vann

Lonnie Vann

A Jacksboro man who is a robbery suspect on the state’s most wanted list was captured Friday night in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, authorities said. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Lonnie Vann is wanted by the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office and the TBI on two counts of armed robbery from a December 5 incident on Deerfield Way in Lafollette.

Vann, a Jacksboro resident and former Campbell County middle school teacher, was added to the TBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted list one week ago. He was the most recent addition to the list.

In a press release Saturday, the TBI said special agents developed leads that Vann was in South Carolina. At about 7:30 p.m. Friday, Myrtle Beach police officers spotted the white Chevy Captiva that Vann was driving on Highway 501, the release said. [Read more…]