Oak Ridge Today

Baby boy found dead near river bank in March remains unidentified

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The Oak Ridge Police Department and Police Chief Robin Smith are offering a $1,500 reward for information about the baby boy found dead near the river bank along Melton Lake Greenway on Thursday, March 26, 2020. The Oak Ridge Police Department has named the baby boy “Wyatt,” which means “little warrior,” the city said. On Thursday, April 2, ORPD officers and the Oak Ridge Fire Department set up a memorial in baby Wyatt’s name near the parking area on Melton Lake at Edgemoor Road. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The baby boy found dead near the river bank along Melton Lake Greenway in March remains unidentified, and the Oak Ridge Police Department is offering a $1,500 reward for information about the boy.

The Oak Ridge Police Department has named the baby boy “Wyatt,” which authorities have said means “little warrior.”

Oak Ridge Police Chief Robin Smith has pledged $500 of the $1,500 reward being offered by the police department for information about the boy.

The ORPD has received $950 in community donations to use for a memorial for baby Wyatt. ORPD officers and the Oak Ridge Fire Department set up a memorial in baby Wyatt’s name near a parking area along the Clinch River at Edgemoor Road in April.

The baby boy’s body was found near the river bank just north of the Edgemoor Road bridge on Thursday, March 26. The boy’s umbilical cord was still attached before he was placed in the water, Smith said in a Facebook video in April. A piece of clothing was with Wyatt, although it’s not being described for investigative reasons.

[Read more…]

For members: Police say they found parts matching defendant’s car at fatal hit-and-run

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Police officers investigating a hit-and-run collision that killed a pedestrian on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Tuesday morning said they found vehicle parts matching the defendant’s car at the crash site.

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Christhian Ordonez-Alvarenza

Police officers investigating a hit-and-run collision that killed a pedestrian on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Tuesday morning said they found vehicle parts matching the defendant’s car at the crash site.

Shortly after the crash, police found parts of his car, a 2008 Honda Accord, in a trash can on the street at his home, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

Police officers investigating a hit-and-run collision that killed a pedestrian on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Tuesday morning said they found vehicle parts matching the defendant’s car at the crash site.

The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: an advertiser or subscriber to Oak Ridge Today.

Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.

Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here:

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If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

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We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription.

Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

Police investigating fatal hit-and-run involving pedestrian on Turnpike

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The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a deadly hit-and-run crash involving a pedestrian between Brussels Road and Bogola Road on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Tuesday morning, Aug. 11, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a deadly hit-and-run crash involving a pedestrian on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Tuesday morning.

Police received a 911 call about the fatal hit-and-run at about 7 a.m. Tuesday. It was reported between Brussels Road and Bogola Road in east Oak Ridge.

[Read more…]

Fire and Crime Prevention Celebration is Saturday

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Oak Ridge Fire and Crime Prevention Parade Map 2019
Oak Ridge Fire and Crime Prevention Parade Map 2019 (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge fire and police departments, in partnership with the Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program, will hold this year’s Fire and Crime Prevention Celebration on Saturday.

Everyone is invited to participate and support this free event, which combines the police department’s annual National Night Out and the fire department’s Fire Prevention Parade into one big community celebration, a press release said. 

The event will kick off with a parade (weather permitting) at 11 a.m. at Oak Ridge Fire Department Fire Station 3 on Tuskegee Drive. Following the parade, the celebration in Alvin K. Bissell Park is expected to begin around noon, and it will include food, emergency services equipment displays, a mobile video game theater, bounce houses, safety information booths, and police/fire demonstrations, the press release said.

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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…]

Updated: Man injured in Clinton shooting

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A Clinton man was injured in a shooting on Lee Lane on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 26, 2018, police said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A Clinton man was injured in a shooting on Lee Lane on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 26, 2018, police said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11 a.m. Dec. 27.

CLINTON—A Clinton man was injured in a shooting on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

The shooting was reported at about 4:42 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Lee Lane and State Route 61, which connects Oak Ridge and Clinton. It involved a dispute between a father and his son, and the father was shot in the buttocks, police said. The two men were reported to have been shooting at each other in a yard at that intersection.

When officers arrived, they found Terry Lee Crawford, 61, on the ground in front of his home. Crawford’s home is next to his son’s home, where the shooting occurred. Crawford was bleeding from an apparent gunshot wound, the Clinton Police Department said. He was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. He was in stable condition on Thursday morning, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton.

Clinton Police Chief Vaughn Becker told WYSH Radio on Thursday that the elder Crawford had run back to his own property before collapsing in his yard. [Read more…]

Tractor-trailer overturns with 6,500 chickens

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A truck carrying about 6,500 chickens overturned on South Illinois Avenue at Bethel Valley Road on Monday night, Dec. 10, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A truck carrying about 6,500 chickens overturned on South Illinois Avenue at Bethel Valley Road on Monday night, Dec. 10, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A tractor-trailer carrying about 6,500 chickens overturned on South Illinois Avenue on Monday night, authorities said.

Several of the holding pens broke free from the truck, and an unknown number of chickens were lost, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in a statement.

The crash was reported at about 8:25 p.m. Monday at Bethel Valley Road in the lanes headed toward Knox County. The semi truck veered off the right side of the roadway and flipped, the ORPD said. [Read more…]

Reminder: Fire & Crime Prevention Celebration is Saturday

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The Oak Ridge Fire Department Fire Prevention Parade in 2017. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Fire Department Fire Prevention Parade in 2017. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

A reminder: The Oak Ridge Fire Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, and Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program are teaming up to host the Fire and Crime Prevention Celebration on Saturday.

“Everyone is invited to participate and support this free event, which combines the police department’s annual National Night Out and the fire department’s Fire Prevention Parade into one big community celebration,” a press release said.

Goals of the Fire and Crime Prevention Celebration include: [Read more…]

Man shot during argument, after crash at Maytag Laundry

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At least one person was injured after a vehicle was reported to have crashed into the Maytag Laundry near South Illinois Avenue in central Oak Ridge on Tuesday evening, Sept. 18, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

At least one person was injured after a vehicle crashed into the Maytag Laundry near South Illinois Avenue in central Oak Ridge on Tuesday evening, Sept. 18, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A man was shot in the arm during an argument and after the crash into the Maytag Laundry on Tuesday evening, authorities said.

Before the crash, two men had been arguing, according to the Oak Ridge Police Department. The argument turned into a physical altercation, the ORPD said.

“During the altercation, one man appeared to reach inside the other man’s vehicle and held on as the vehicle was in motion,” the ORPD said in a press release. “The vehicle struck two other vehicles before crashing into the front of the building.”

The man outside the vehicle then fired a handgun at the male driver, hitting him once in the arm, the ORPD said. The male driver fled the scene on foot, but was soon located near the Oak Ridge Civic Center, the ORPD said. [Read more…]

Motorcyclist airlifted to UT after crashing into power pole

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A motorcyclist was flown to a Knoxville hospital in a medical helicopter with what were described as serious injuries after crashing into a power pole on West Outer Drive on Wednesday morning, Aug. 8, 2018. authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A motorcyclist was flown to a Knoxville hospital in a medical helicopter with what were described as serious injuries after crashing into a power pole on West Outer Drive on Wednesday morning, Aug. 8, 2018. authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 2:50 p.m.

A 20-year-old motorcyclist was flown to a Knoxville hospital in a medical helicopter with what were described as serious injuries after crashing into a power pole on West Outer Drive on Wednesday morning, authorities said.

The single-vehicle crash, which was a few blocks east of North Illinois Avenue in an area with a curve and a hill, was reported at about 7:10 a.m. Wednesday. The motorcycle was heading west when it left the roadway and struck a utility pole, according to the Oak Ridge Police Department.

After the crash, the male motorcyclist was airlifted to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville from Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, said Eric Rackard, battalion chief for the Oak Ridge Fire Department. [Read more…]

Officer injured in crash released from hospital

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An Oak Ridge Police Department officer was injured in a crash and children were taken to the hospital after a fugitive crashed a car as he fled from police on Wednesday, April 5, 2018, authorities said. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Police Department)

The Oak Ridge Police Department officer injured in a crash allegedly caused by a fugitive who was fleeing from police on Wednesday, April 4, 2018, has been released from the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, a spokesperson said Friday. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Police Department)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:55 a.m.

The officer injured in a crash allegedly caused by a fugitive who was fleeing from police on Wednesday has been released from the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, a spokesperson confirmed Friday.

Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Nathan Gibson was injured while trying to make a traffic stop and serve a warrant on Khristoff Deshawn Lee, 24, of Oak Ridge, on South Illinois Avenue at about 12:37 p.m. Wednesday, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

Gibson has been discharged, UT Medical Center spokesperson Susan Wyatt said Friday afternoon. No information is available on his present condition.

It’s not clear what charges might have been in the warrant Gibson was trying to serve on Lee on Wednesday, but a writ of criminal capias had been issued for Lee after he failed to appear at a plea agreement hearing on attempted first-degree murder and robbery charges, among other pending charges, in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on August 14. [Read more…]

Officer injured, children taken to hospital after fugitive flees from police

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An Oak Ridge Police Department officer was injured in a crash and children were taken to the hospital after a fugitive crashed a car as he fled from police on Wednesday, April 4, 2018, authorities said. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Police Department)

An Oak Ridge Police Department officer was injured in a crash and children were taken to the hospital after a fugitive crashed a car as he fled from police on Wednesday, April 4, 2018, authorities said. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Police Department)

An Oak Ridge Police Department officer was injured in a crash and children were taken to the hospital after a fugitive crashed a car as he fled from police on Wednesday, authorities said.

The ORPD learned that a known felony suspect was in the area just before 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.Shortly after they received the information, officers located the vehicle that they believed contained the fugitive and they attempted to conduct a traffic stop near the intersection of South Illinois Avenue and Woodland Terrace.

But the driver refused to stop, entered the Panera Bread and Aubrey’s Restaurant parking area and proceeded through the lot at an unsafe rate of speed, striking at least one other vehicle, the city said.

The fugitive, Khristoff Lee, was initially a passenger in the vehicle, but he forced the female driver to switch seats with him upon seeing officers, the press release said. [Read more…]