Firefighters are pictured above in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park this week. (Photo by Great Smoky Mountains National Park)
Note: This story was last updated at 3:45 p.m.
There are a number of places you can drop off supplies to donate to the firefighters battling destructive blazes in the Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge area and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Here are several, with two in Oak Ridge, one in Clinton, and one in Roane County: [Read more…]
Information from WYSH Radio
Authorities in Roane County spent part of Tuesday searching for a man suspected of carjacking another motorist after crashing his own car earlier in the day.
Authorities responded to the scene of a one-vehicle crash on Old Harriman Highway shortly after 7:45 a.m. Tuesday and found the two passengers—Randall Rhodey of Clinton and David Russo of Oak Ridge—suffering from injuries. They were taken to Methodist Medical Center for treatment of those injuries. The driver of the car, however, was not immediately located as he had already fled the area by the time officers arrived. [Read more…]
A 20-year-old Powell woman died in a single-vehicle crash during a police pursuit on Poplar Creek Road in Roane County on Wednesday afternoon, and a 15-year-old male driver was injured, authorities said. (Photo by Tom Scott)
A 20-year-old Powell woman died in a single-vehicle crash during a police pursuit on Poplar Creek Road in Roane County on Wednesday afternoon, and a 15-year-old male driver was injured, authorities said.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol said the juvenile, a Harriman boy who was not identified because of his age, was fleeing from police in a 1998 Dodge pickup at about 3:06 p.m. when he lost control of the truck. It ran off the road and hit a rock wall or cavern opening, the THP said.
Holland Durbrow, 20, was killed in the impact, the THP said. She was not using a seat belt, according to a preliminary report.
WYSH Radio in Clinton reported that Harriman police officers tried to pull over a pickup that had been reported stolen Wednesday afternoon, but the young driver refused to stop. At one point during the pursuit, officers lost sight of the truck on Poplar Creek Road, WSYH said. Moments later, officers came upon the crash scene. [Read more…]
A Harriman man died in a single-vehicle crash on Highway 61 in Roane County on Friday, authorities said.
Martin J. Palenski, 37, was not wearing a seat belt, and he was ejected when the car he was driving rolled after hitting an embankment at about 12:36 p.m. Friday, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.
The THP said Palenski was driving a 2002 Ford Taurus west on Highway 61. While going around a righthand curve, the Taurus went off the left side of the road, a crash report said. Palenski overcorrected and hit an embankment on the right side of the road, the THP said. The Taurus then rolled, and Palenski was ejected, the THP said. [Read more…]
An Oliver Springs man is facing charges, including driving under the influence, after a head-on collision injured three people in two vehicles on Highway 61 west of Oliver Springs late Friday afternoon. (Photo by Tom Scott)
OLIVER SPRINGS—An Oliver Springs man is facing charges, including driving under the influence, after a head-on collision injured three people in two vehicles on Highway 61 west of Oliver Springs late Friday afternoon, authorities said.
Ryan P. Price, 33, of Oliver Springs, will be charged with DUI, vehicular assault, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a firearm while under the influence, a due care violation, failure to maintain lane, violation of the financial responsibility law, and a failure to carry registration, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
The THP said a 2003 Dodge Durango driven by Price was traveling east in the westbound lane on State Route 61 near Scandlyn Hollow Road in Roane County at about 4:55 p.m. Friday.
A 2014 Jeep Wrangler driven west by Rodger Mattox, 66, of Oliver Springs, was also in the westbound lane, which was its travel lane, the THP said. [Read more…]
Roane County emergency workers rescued an 80-year-old woman on Monday who had been trapped overnight in a car that traveled about 250 feet from from the road, down an embankment, and into a creek, authorities said. (Photo by Roane County Sheriff’s Office via Facebook)
Roane County emergency workers rescued an 80-year-old woman on Monday after she was trapped overnight in a car that traveled about 250 feet from the road, down an embankment, and into a creek, authorities said.
Roane County mail carrier Kathy Payne noticed the vehicle in the wood line while on her route on Joiner Hollow Road on Monday, the Roane County Sheriff’s Office said. Payne called 911.
Roane County Sheriff’s Office Captain Tim Hawn stopped to investigate while on patrol on Joiner Hollow Road. Hawn said he heard someone crying for help, and he climbed down the embankment and discovered an 80-year-old female who was pinned in her vehicle, the RCSO said in a Facebook post.
The woman was able to speak, and she asked Hawn if he was there to get her out.
“Hawn said that he was there to help her and promised her that they would get her out,” the Sheriff’s Office said. [Read more…]
Nine students were injured after a Roane County school bus went off the right side of the road and rolled on its side down a steep embankment on a curvy, country road southwest of Oliver Springs on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 4 p.m. Oct. 22.
ROANE COUNTY—Nine students were injured after a Roane County school bus dropped off the right side of Mahoney Road and rolled onto its right side down a steep embankment on a curvy, country road southwest of Oliver Springs on Wednesday afternoon.
Two middle school students were taken to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge by ambulance, and a third student, possibly also a middle school student, was transported by a parent, said Gary Aytes, Roane County Schools superintendent. The injuries were not life-threatening, Aytes said. He said one student might have a broken arm, and the others had cuts and abrasions.
Thursday update: The Tennessee Highway Patrol later reported that nine students were taken to Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge. Two were transported by ambulance, and the other seven were taken in private vehicles.
The crash was reported in the 600 block of Mahoney Road, just west of Johnson Road, at about 3:50 p.m. Wednesday. There were 22 children on the bus from Oliver Springs High School, Oliver Springs Middle School, and Dyllis Springs Elementary School in Roane County. [Read more…]
A Chattanooga pill mill operator was sentenced to 280 years in federal prison on Thursday, and the Roane County Sheriff’s Office was among the law enforcement agencies that participated in the investigation that led to her indictment and subsequent conviction, authorities said.
Barbara Lang, a.k.a. “Aunt Bea,†61, of Rossville, Georgia, was sentenced by the Honorable Curtis L. Collier, U.S. District Judge, said United States Attorney William C. Killian of the Eastern District of Tennessee.
After a 25-day trial that spanned almost three months, Lang was convicted of two counts of conspiring to distribute and dispense Schedule II and IV controlled substances, outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose; five counts of maintaining a premises for the purpose of distributing controlled substances; and 14 counts of structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements, a press release said.
Lang was charged along with three other people. [Read more…]
Photo by Roane County Sheriff’s Office via Facebook
Authorities helped save a man from drowning in west Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, the Roane County Sheriff’s Office reported.
The Roane County dispatch center received a report that a man had fallen in the water near Blair Road, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Captain Tim Hawn was less than one mile away when the call was dispatched.
“Captain Hawn immediately put himself at risk in order to save the guy that was in the water,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a post published on Facebook. “Captain Hawn was able to retrieve the guy and pull him to safety.” [Read more…]
An emergency exercise will be conducted at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 16.
The emergency exercise is being conducted by URS-CH2M Oak Ridge, LLC, or UCOR.
The exercise, which should conclude no later than 1 p.m., is being conducted in coordination with the U.S. Department of Energy and Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, a press release said. It will involve participants from multiple state agencies; the city of Oak Ridge; and Anderson, Knox, Loudon, and Roane counties. [Read more…]
The Third Annual Drug Awareness Day is at the Oak Ridge Municipal Pool on Saturday, June 6.
It’s hosted by the Oak Ridge Chapter of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks. The pool is located at 172 Providence Road, near Oak Ridge High School.
Drug Awareness demonstrations will be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. June 6 inside the pool area. Hundreds of prizes will be given away to those participating in a drug awareness activity, a press release said. Some of the prizes include T-shirts, coloring books, and Frisbees.
This event is a partnership with Anderson County Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Oak Ridge City Recreation and Parks Department, Roane County Anti-Drug Coalition, and the Tennessee Meth and Pharmaceutical Task Force. [Read more…]
Jeremy Alexander Gambrell
Information from WYSH Radio
The former police officer accused of shooting his ex-wife Saturday, March 21, has had the charges against him upgraded from aggravated assault to attempted second-degree murder, according to Roane County District Attorney General Russell Johnson’s office.
Jeremy Alexander Gambrell, who goes by “Alex,†will still face an aggravated assault charge in connection to him allegedly firing a gun at a second person at his ex-wife Jenny Gambrell’s home. That person was not struck by the gunfire, but Jenny Gambrell was hit several times and, as of last week, was recovering in the hospital.
Alex Gambrell—a 41-year-old former Lenoir City and Tennessee Valley Authority police officer—remains in custody on a $50,000 bond, but that amount is expected to increase following his arraignment on the upgraded charge.
