Oak Ridge Today













One person dies in crash on Melton Lake Drive

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

One person died in a two-vehicle crash on Melton Lake Drive near the rowing course finish line on Sunday, May 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

One person died in a two-vehicle crash on Melton Lake Drive near the rowing course finish line on Sunday night, May 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

One person died in a head-on collision on Melton Lake Drive on Sunday night, authorities said.

The two-vehicle crash was reported at about 11:23 p.m. Sunday just south of the tower at the Oak Ridge rowing course finish line. It involved a sport utility vehicle and a Comcast utility bucket truck.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, but it appears that the SUV crossed the center line, striking the Comcast truck head-on, according to Oak Ridge Police Department Sergeant Jeremy Huddleston.

Authorities reported that a female driver died in the crash. Huddleston said the other driver was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville and released. [Read more…]

Commission asks for citizen input on Anderson County EMS on Thursday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Anderson County Commission, which is pictured above on March 20, 2018, unanimously censured Anderson County Circuit Clerk William Jones on Feb. 20, and asked him to resign after sexual harassment allegations were reported. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Anderson County Commission is pictured above on March 20, 2018. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Anderson County Commission is asking for citizen input on Anderson County EMS (emergency medical services) on Thursday.

The meeting is scheduled from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, May 17, in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, at 728 Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge.

“The purpose of this meeting is for input from citizens regarding emergency medical services,” a meeting notice said. [Read more…]

Driver seriously injured in crash with train

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

A 22-year-old driver was seriously injured in a crash with a train in Anderson County on Saturday, authorities said.

The driver has been identified as Benjamin Sharp. After the crash, he was taken by an Anderson County EMS ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville with what were reported to be life-threatening injuries. Information on his current condition wasn’t immediately available Monday afternoon.

The crash was reported at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday on Patterson Lane off Old Lake City Highway.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol said Sharp was trying to cross the railroad tracks to a home off Old Lake City Highway when the 2009 Jeep Commander he was driving was hit by the train. [Read more…]

ORFD swimmers rescue stranded canoeist

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Two Oak Ridge Fire Department swimmers rescued a man who had fallen out of a canoe near Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge on Thursday afternoon, April 12, 2018, authorities said. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Fire Department)

Two Oak Ridge Fire Department swimmers rescued a man who had fallen out of a canoe near Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge on Thursday afternoon, April 12, 2018, authorities said. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Fire Department)

 

Two Oak Ridge Fire Department swimmers rescued a man who had fallen out of a canoe near Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

The man, who was not identified, cannot swim, but he was wearing a life jacket, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release Friday. He was hanging onto a fence post in the water after falling out of his canoe, but he was cold and could not get himself back into the overturned canoe or to the shore, the press release said.

The Oak Ridge 911 dispatch center had received a call that a canoe had overturned in the cove at the entrance to Clark Center Park at about 3:35 p.m. Thursday.

Oak Ridge Fire Department Captain Jason Benjamin has been training a crew of firefighters to become rescue swimmers during the past 24 months, and their training was put to the test on Thursday, the press release said. [Read more…]

Jail death probed by TBI

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the death of an inmate at the Anderson County Detention Facility that occurred in March.

Preliminary investigations have not turned up anything suspicious, according to the TBI, but their investigation is ongoing.

Patricia Jones, 53, of Oliver Springs was booked into the jail on March 17 on charges of forgery and theft filed by the Oliver Springs Police Department. Jones was found dead inside her cell the following day, March 18, by a jailer who checked on her after noticing that she had stopped snoring, and found her unresponsive. [Read more…]

Man dies in Clinton Highway crash

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

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…]

Man charged with homicide in crash that killed 3-year-old boy

Posted at
By 3 Comments

Jason Robert Braden

Jason Robert Braden II

 

An Anderson County man has been charged in an 11-count indictment that includes vehicular homicide by intoxication after a crash that killed a three-year-old boy and injured at least three other people in Oak Ridge last year.

Jason Robert Braden III, 3, died in the two-vehicle crash, which was considered a mass casualty event. It was reported at about 5:20 p.m. Friday, January 13, 2017, at the intersection of Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive.

Charged in the 11-count indictment is Jason Robert Braden II, 24, of Bush Road in Marlow. The charges against Braden include vehicular homicide by intoxication, vehicular homicide by recklessness, four counts of reckless aggravated assault, reckless endangerment when a deadly weapon (a motor vehicle) is involved, driving under the influence, driving without a license, speeding, and violation of the child restraint law.

The Anderson County Grand Jury in Clinton indicted Braden on February 27. He was arrested March 4. His bond has been set at $125,000, and he was released from the Anderson County Detention Facility on Monday, March 19. He has an arraignment set for Monday morning, March 26, in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. [Read more…]

Warrant: Gun fired as shooting victim tried to grab it during argument

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Christopher Lee Roberts

Christopher Lee Roberts

 

The defendant in a fatal shooting near Clinton on Thursday pulled out a gun during an argument, and it fired when the victim tried to grab it, according to court records.

After the shooting, the defendant, Christopher Lee Roberts, 45, who has been charged with criminal homicide, repeatedly said “I just f****d up” or “I messed up,” according to home owner Martin “Chris” Alsop and resident Michael Carroll.

The shooting, which killed Bradley Charles Bivens, 48, was reported at 611 Sinking Springs Road in Anderson County at about 9 p.m. Thursday. [Read more…]

ORPD officers use tourniquets to help save burglary suspect’s life

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Police Department officers receive tourniquet training. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge Police Department officers receive tourniquet training. (Submitted photo)

 

Oak Ridge police officers applied tourniquets to the arms of a burglary suspect who had severe, deep cuts and had significant blood loss, and the quick application of the tourniquets likely saved the man’s life, authorities said Tuesday.

The burglary was reported at 5:13 a.m. Tuesday on Manhattan Avenue in the Woodland neighborhood in central Oak Ridge. The resident called 911 when she heard loud noises and glass breaking outside her house, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

“She advised emergency dispatchers that someone was shouting and trying to break in through her front door,” the ORPD said.

Officers responded to the home and found a man on the front porch with severe, deep cuts to both his arms, the Police Department said. [Read more…]

Rescuers search for missing man in water at Bull Run Park

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Rescuers in an Anderson County Sheriff's Department boat search for a missing man in the water at Bull Run Park in Claxton, authorities said Sunday afternoon, Feb. 18, 2018. Anderson County Sheriff Paul White is at left in the boat. In front is Knoxville Police Department search and rescue volunteer Candy Stooksbury with K-9 Barnabas, a bloodhound. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Rescuers in an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department boat search for a missing man in the water at Bull Run Park in Claxton, authorities said Sunday afternoon, Feb. 18, 2018. Anderson County Sheriff Paul White is at left in the boat. In front is Knoxville Police Department search and rescue volunteer Candy Stooksbury with K-9 Barnabas, a bloodhound. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:15 p.m.

CLAXTON—Rescuers searched for a missing man in the water at Bull Run Park in Claxton on Sunday afternoon and evening, but they were not able to locate him.

The search was called off as daylight faded just before 7 p.m. Sunday, more than six hours after the missing man’s pickup truck was located near the park. It’s not clear when the search might resume.

The missing man is reported to be from Knox County, said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy. The identity of the man, reported to be 66, was not immediately available Sunday.

Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said the man left his black pickup truck on the side of road across Bull Run Creek from Bull Run Park, The keys were in the truck, and a suicide note was in the truck, White said. The vehicle was parked alongside New Henderson Road at Tracy Allison Lane.

But rescuers aren’t certain that the man is in the water, White said. [Read more…]

Movie screening, discussion to raise awareness of opioid epidemic

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Flyer_Chasing the Dragon_FINAL_Feb 20th_CMS

A movie screening and discussion on Tuesday will help raise awareness of the opioid epidemic in the community, a press release said.

The documentary “Chasing the Dragon” will be shown starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, February 20, in the Clinton Middle School auditorium. The screening and discussion are scheduled until 8 p.m. Parents, teachers, schools administrators, students, and other interested community members are invited to attend, the press release said. Students in grades 7-12 may attend with an adult.

The press release said there were 256 drug-related death cases in Knox and Anderson counties in 2016, according to the Knox County Regional Forensic Center. And the number continues to increase, the press release said.

“In an effort to combat the growing epidemic of prescription drug and heroin abuse, ASAP of Anderson, in cooperation with Anderson County EMS and in coordination with community partners in Anderson County, are hosting a screening of ‘Chasing the Dragon: The Life of an Opiate Addict,’” the release said. “The FBI and DEA have released this documentary aimed at educating students, young adults, parents, and other community members about the dangers of dependence and addiction.” [Read more…]

Denenberg appointed to vacant AC Commission seat; EMS vote deferred

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

Meeting Thursday in a special-called session, the Anderson County Commission unanimously voted to appoint Catherine Denenberg of Oak Ridge to serve the remainder of an unexpired term on the Commission.

Denenberg was the only person to apply for the appointment, and no other nominations were made from the floor or by commissioners. The vote to appoint her to serve the remainder of Harry “Whitey” Hitchcock’s term representing Oak Ridge’s District 6 was unanimous. Denenberg has already qualified to run for that seat in the August general election. [Read more…]

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today