Oak Ridge Today

Driver identified in fatal crash at Bull Run Creek

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The driver has been identified in a fatal single-vehicle crash into Bull Run Creek in Claxton on Thursday night, April 18, 2019. The Toyota Highlander sport utility vehicle, which had been submerged, was pulled from the water at about midnight. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 3:40 p.m.

The driver has been identified in a fatal single-vehicle crash into Bull Run Creek in Claxton on Thursday night.

The driver, Douglas A. Batson, 66, of Knoxville, was traveling west in a 2007 Toyota Highlander sport utility vehicle on New Henderson Road at about 9:20 p.m. Thursday when he turned on his signal to make a right turn, according to rescuers and a fatality report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Batson drove off the right side of the road, the report said.

“The vehicle then struck some wooden pylons and then went into the river and then sank to the bottom,” the report said.

[Read more…]

Pair of unrelated fires destroy houses

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Information from WYSH Radio

No one was injured, but a house on Patt Lane in Claxton was said to be a total loss after a fire on Saturday night.

An Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputy responded to the scene and reported that the entire roof of the home was engulfed by flames and that the fire was rapidly spreading to the second floor of the structure. He also discovered the homeowner attempting to fight the fire with a water hose, and the tenant—the owner’s son—removing personal items from the burning home. Deputy Tyler Culver reported that he had to remove the younger man from the house twice as he tried to save items even as the fire spread.

Despite the best efforts of firefighters from the Claxton Volunteer Fire Department and Rural Metro, all that was left standing of the home was a pair of brick chimneys. Firefighters said that the blaze appeared to have begun in the attic, and the tenant told deputies that neither fireplace was in use at the time of the fire, and that due to ongoing renovations, he had been using electric and propane heaters as his primary heat sources. Firefighters found no traces of any accelerant or any other evidence of arson, but the exact cause of the fire is under investigation.

The homeowner did not have insurance on the property. [Read more…]

Mobile home fire under investigation

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Information from WYSH Radio

No people were injured, but a dog died in a Friday afternoon mobile home fire in Claxton.

The fire at the home on Dennis Lane was reported shortly before 5 p.m. Friday. When Claxton Volunteer Fire Department firefighters arrived, they reported that flames had engulfed about half of the structure.

Firefighters from not only Claxton, but also the Andersonville, Marlow, and Medford Volunteer Fire Departments—as well as crews from the Norris, Rocky Top, and Rural Metro fire departments—battled the blaze, which required additional water to be brought to the scene after the first tanker went dry. [Read more…]

Claxton Elementary evacuated Tuesday after bomb threat; nothing found

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Note: This story was last updated at 9:15 a.m.

Claxton Elementary School was evacuated Tuesday when a bomb threat was reported, and the school was searched but nothing was found, authorities said.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to the school after the bomb threat was reported just before noon Tuesday.

All students were evacuated and moved to Zion Baptist Church on the other side of the Claxton Volunteer Fire Department on Clinton Highway, said Tyler Mayes, director of administrative services for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department. [Read more…]

Man dies in Clinton Highway crash

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An 86-year-old man died in a two-vehicle crash on Clinton Highway late Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

Fred Lay, who has a Clinton address, was driving east on Bull Run Road in Claxton in a 2005 Mercury Sable car when he turned onto southbound US Highway 25W (Clinton Highway), the Tennessee Highway Patrol said in a report. His vehicle turned into the path of a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer sport utility vehicle driven south in the inside lane of Clinton Highway by Marissa N. McCormick, 27, of Powell, and the two vehicles collided, the report said.

Southbound Clinton Highway heads toward Knoxville.

Lay died due to the crash, which was reported at about 4:56 p.m. Tuesday, the THP said. McCormick was not injured. [Read more…]

Two hit in arms during Claxton shooting

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Jacob Lynn Rutherford

Jacob Lynn Rutherford

 

CLAXTON—Two men were hit in the arms during the shooting in Claxton on Saturday evening, January 13, and the Oak Ridge man charged with attempted murder in the case also shot at a woman but missed, according to court records.

The shooting at the home at the intersection of Clinton Highway and Lonesome Dove Road allegedly occurred “during some type of altercation” in a bedroom, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

Jacob Lynn Rutherford, 23, of Oak Ridge, has been charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of reckless endangerment in the shooting.

The affidavits, which summarize the alleged facts of the case and are attached to arrest warrants, said Rutherford pulled a handgun from his waistband during the altercation, pointed it at Nathan Phillips, 36, and fired. Phillips had two gunshot wounds to his left upper arm, the affidavits said. [Read more…]

Claxton firefighters receive pet rescue equipment

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Claxton resident Leo York, right, presents Claxton Volunteer Fire Department Chief Dusty Sharpe with a pet rescue kit used to treat small animals and house pets suffering from smoke inhalation and other medical emergencies. (Submitted photo)

Claxton resident Leo York, right, presents Claxton Volunteer Fire Department Chief Dusty Sharpe with a pet rescue kit used to treat small animals and house pets suffering from smoke inhalation and other medical emergencies. (Submitted photo)

 

Claxton firefighters are better equipped to handle emergencies involving house pets thanks to a donation from a local resident and pet owner.

Leo York donated the pet non-rebreather oxygen masks to the Claxton Volunteer Fire Department after viewing a video of firefighters in Bakersfield, California, reviving a small dog suffering from smoke inhalation, a press release said.

“While it is understood that human life will always be the most pressing priority, having the tools to aid our fur friends will make our fire station even better equipped to serve the community” said York, who donated the rescue kit, which contains masks for both small and large pets. [Read more…]

Roads closed as all five county fire departments respond to Marlow fire

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A fire was reported at a house at the intersection of Hidden Valley Road and Laurel Road in Marlow late Friday afternoon, Jan. 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A fire was reported at a house at the intersection of Hidden Valley Road and Laurel Road in Marlow late Friday afternoon, Jan. 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

MARLOW—Laurel Road and Hidden Valley Road were closed Friday evening as all five volunteer fire departments in Anderson County responded to a house fire in Marlow.

The roads were closed because fire trucks are parked in the streets, and water is freezing on the surface of the roadways, said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy.

The fire was reported at about 4:15 p.m. Friday, Lucas said. All five of the county’s volunteer fire departments responded: Marlow, Briceville, Claxton, Andersonville, and Medford. As far as he knew, all five were still at the fire on Friday evening, Lucas said. [Read more…]

Two charged in Claxton shooting, one with attempted murder

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Jacob Lynn Rutherford

Jacob Lynn Rutherford

 

CLAXTON—Two people have been charged in the shooting on Clinton Highway in Claxton on Saturday, and one of them faces charges of attempted murder, authorities said.

Jacob Lynn Rutherford, 23, of Oak Ridge, has been charged with three counts of attempted murder, said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy. Rutherford is in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton pending bond that will be set at arraignment, Lucas said.

His girlfriend, Maggie Taylor Atteberry, 24, of Clinton, was charged with being an accessory after the fact, and she has been released on bond, Lucas said.

Deputies had responded to a report of a person shot at the Bread Box on Edgemoor Road on Saturday evening when they found Nathan Lynn Phillips, 36, of Clinton, with gunshot wounds. Another person was driving him to the hospital, but they had stopped at the store to call for an ambulance, Lucas said. Phillips was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville by Anderson County EMS. Phillips’ wounds were more serious than originally thought, and he remains in the hospital, Lucas said. [Read more…]

Updated: Two arrested after car chase

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Two people were arrested after a car chase that started in Claxton and passed through Oak Ridge, Clinton, and parts of Anderson County before ending on Cox Lane on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017. (Photo by Anderson County Sheriff's Department)

Two people were arrested after a car chase that started in Claxton and passed through Oak Ridge, Clinton, and parts of Anderson County before ending on Cox Lane on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017. (Photo by Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

 

Note: This story was updated at 9:30 p.m.

Two people were arrested after a car chase that started in Claxton and passed through Oak Ridge, Clinton, and parts of Anderson County on Saturday.

The chase started as a suspicious-vehicle call just before noon. Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to a homeowner’s report of a suspicious vehicle parked in her driveway on Maple Lane shortly before 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

When deputies arrived, the car fled from Claxton, through Oak Ridge, and then through Clinton back into the Foley Hill area of Anderson County, said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy.

The driver ran on foot after turning down a dead-end road on Cox Lane north of Clinton, but he was caught after a brief foot chase, Lucas said.

The driver, Jeremy Raulston Dial, 37, of Knoxville, was charged with several offenses, including felony evading arrest. Additional charges against Dial are pending, Lucas said. [Read more…]

Woman pleads guilty in fatal car-pedestrian crash on Clinton Highway

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Destany Lynn Cotner

Destany Lynn Cotner

 

A Clinton woman has pleaded guilty in a fatal car-pedestrian hit-and-run crash on Clinton Highway in March.

Destany Lynn Cotner, 25, pleaded guilty in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Friday to two charges of leaving the scene of an accident involving death and driving under the influence (first offense).

As part of the plea agreement, two other charges were dismissed. Those charges were driving with a suspended or revoked license (first offense) and possession of contraband in a penal facility.

It was a plea by information, meaning Cotner had not yet been indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury.

Cotner initially told the Tennessee Highway Patrol that she was the driver the night of the crash, but she later changed her story to say her co-defendant Isaac Irwin, 26, also of Clinton, was the driver, according to a narrative filed in the case and attached to warrants.

Cotner received a two-year prison sentence on the conviction of leaving the scene of an accident involving death. As a standard offender, her release eligibility is 30 percent. Her sentence on this felony conviction was suspended, and she will be placed on supervised probation. [Read more…]

Resident escapes when fire destroys outbuilding, damages home

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The resident escaped when an outbuilding and part of a home burned on Old Edgemoor Lane in Claxton on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A resident escaped when an outbuilding and part of a home burned on Old Edgemoor Lane in Claxton on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLAXTON—A resident escaped when a fire destroyed a storage building and damaged a home on Old Edgemoor Lane in Claxton late Sunday morning.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department reported that the fire call came in to the 911 center a little before 11:30 a.m. Sunday. When deputies arrived, they found the storage building engulfed in flames, along with the portion of the home closest to the outbuilding, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton.

Deputies reported that the homeowner, Kathrine Lively, told them she had just finished using her lawn mower and put it back in the shed when she went inside to take a shower. A few minutes later, she heard someone at her door yelling at her that she needed to come outside. [Read more…]