Oak Ridge Today

Motorcyclist, 21, flown to UT hospital after crash with Electric Department truck

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The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a crash between a motorcycle and a city electric truck at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue on Sunday morning, Aug. 14, 2016. The electric truck is in the background at right. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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

A 21-year-old motorcyclist was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville after crashing into an Oak Ridge Electric Department utility truck at the intersection of Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike on Sunday morning, authorities said.

The motorcyclist, identified as Brandon W. Wyrick of Clinton, was going north on a 1999 Yamaha V-Star on Illinois Avenue when he did not stop at a red light at Oak Ridge Turnpike, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said in a preliminary report.

The Electric Department’s 2011 Freightliner was going south on Oak Ridge Turnpike and was legally going through the intersection at Illinois Avenue when Wyrick failed to stop, the THP said. The motorcycle hit the right front side of the utility truck.

Wyrick was treated at the crash site and taken to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge by an Anderson County EMS ambulance. He was then flown to UT Medical Center by a Lifestar helicopter, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in a press release.

Wyrick’s condition was reported to be critical at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday, according to UT Medical Center. [Read more…]

Two injured, one picked up by medical helicopter after head-on crash on Mahoney Road

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Two-Car Crash on Mahoney Road July 21 2016 Slider

Two people were injured and one was picked up by a medical helicopter after a head-on two-vehicle crash on Mahoney Road in Oliver Springs on Thursday, July 21, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 12:30 a.m.

OLIVER SPRINGS—Two drivers were injured and one was picked up by a medical helicopter after a head-on two-vehicle crash on Mahoney Road in Oliver Springs on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday near New Mountain View Baptist Church. Charges are pending against one of the drivers, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The THP said a 1997 Cadillac STS driven by Blake Brakins, 33, of Oak Ridge, was traveling south on Mahoney Road when it crossed over the center line and crashed head-on into a 2016 Ford Fusion traveling north on Mahoney Road and driven by Isabel Cates, 80, of Oliver Springs.

Brakins and Cates were both injured, the THP said. Cates was wearing a seat belt, while Brakins was not, authorities said. [Read more…]

Driver injured after SUV crashes down embankment on South Illinois

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South-Illinois-Avenue-Crash-July-3-2016

A driver was injured after an SUV crashed down an embankment alongside South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge late Sunday or early Monday, July 4, 2016. The embankment is alongside a big hill coming down into Oak Ridge between Centrifuge Way and Scarboro Road. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A driver was injured when a sport utility vehicle crashed down a steep embankment and into a wooded area alongside the northbound lanes of South Illinois Avenue around midnight Sunday, authorities said.

The northbound lanes of South Illinois Avenue were closed for several hours coming down the hill into Oak Ridge between Centrifuge Way and Scarboro Road/Lafayette Drive as the Oak Ridge Police Department investigated the crash.

The name, age, and condition of the driver weren’t immediately available. No other vehicles were reported to be involved. [Read more…]

Updated: Man drowns after jumping off houseboat at Sequoyah Marina

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

ANDERSONVILLE—A man drowned after jumping off a houseboat a few hours before a fireworks show at Sequoyah Marina in Andersonville on Saturday evening, authorities said.

The man was reported to have jumped into the water from the top deck of a large houseboat tied to the shore along with other houseboats, said Mark Lucas, chief deputy of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department.

He said the Sheriff’s Department is investigating the possibility that the man might have hit his head on another boat.

Divers recovered the man’s body under water, authorities said. His name and age haven’t been released yet.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Sergeant Roy Smith requested rescuers after he received a report that a man jumped off either a bridge or a wall about 35 feet into the water, spokesman Matthew Cameron said Sunday.
[Read more…]

Anderson County EMS director gives ‘State of EMS’ address

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Information from WYSH Radio

On Wednesday night, Anderson County Emergency Medical Services Director Nathan Sweet delivered a “State of the EMS” address to county commissioners and members of the public.

The county EMS became an individual entity not funded by the county six years ago, choosing instead to support itself through fees. When the EMS became a stand-alone entity, the county ignored a recommendation from the County Technical Advisory Service—or CTAS—and provided only $215,000 in start-up money rather than the $1.1 million recommended by CTAS. Despite that early limitation, the department was able to support itself…until last year.

In 2015, the County Commission voted to contribute $600,000 to fund the EMS, which found itself hampered by delays in reimbursement from Medicare and serious problems with the third-party billing company used by the EMS. [Read more…]

Couple escape with their dog from house fire

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Wayside Road Fire June 15 2016 1

The Oak Ridge Fire Department puts out a house fire at 106 Wayside Road on Wednesday, June 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10 a.m. June 16.

An Oak Ridge man and woman and their dog escaped from a fire that heavily damaged a home on Wayside Road on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

The fire was reported at about 5:32 p.m. Wednesday.

The couple and their dog were reported to be out of the house and in a neighbor’s yard when firefighters arrived. No injuries were reported.

The fire appeared to have started at a propane grill on a back porch, although the cause hasn’t been determined, said Eric Rackard, Oak Ridge Fire Department battalion chief. [Read more…]

‘State of EMS’ briefing for county commissioners on June 15

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Anderson County Emergency Medical Services will host a “State of EMS” briefing for county commissioners on June 15, beginning at 4:30 p.m.

This briefing will cover the current operations of Anderson County EMS, potential upcoming changes in EMS nationally, and current reimbursement issues.

The briefing, which is open to the general public, will be held at EMS headquarters, 314 Public Safety Lane in Clinton.

Driver charged in two-vehicle crash that injured three on Thursday

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Three people were injured in a two-vehicle crash on Clinton Highway at Mehaffey Road at about 5:27 p.m. Thursday, April 28, 2016. The vehicles included the Jeep Grand Cherokee pictured at left center and the Eagle Vision that is partially obscured behind an emergency vehicle at right. The driver of the Eagle has been charged by the THP. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLAXTON—A Knoxville man was charged with vehicular assault and driving under the influence after a two-vehicle crash injured three people on Clinton Highway on Thursday, authorities said.

Scott Gray, 26, of Knoxville, also faces eight more charges that allege additional violations: open container, simple possession of Schedule IV drugs, drug paraphernalia, due care, improper turn, failure to yield, financial responsibility, and a registration violation, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, which investigated the crash. The DUI offense is a second offense, according to a THP preliminary crash report.

The THP responded to the crash on Clinton Highway at Mehaffey Road at 5:27 p.m. Thursday. Mehaffey Road is a short drive past Edgemoor Road headed toward Knoxville on Clinton Highway. Headed toward Knoxville, it’s near the beginning of a hilly, curvy stretch of Clinton Highway that winds into Knox County from Anderson County.

Authorities said Gray was driving north on Clinton Highway in a 1993 Eagle Vision sedan when he turned into the path of a southbound 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicle driven by Kimberly Williamson, 32, of Knoxville. [Read more…]

WYSH: Clinton crash injures motorcyclist

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Information from WYSH Radio, an Oak Ridge Today news partner

A car-motorcycle crash in south Clinton late Monday morning sent one man to the hospital by Lifestar medical helicopter, authorities said.

The crash occurred just before 11 a.m. Monday on Clinch Avenue in front of the Icon Market.

The Clinton Police Department said that 54-year-old John Aulton of Clinton had been headed north on Clinch Avenue on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle when a southbound Cadillac sedan driven by 75-year-old Billy Ashe of Clinton tried to turn left into the market. But his car ended up in the path of Aulton’s motorcycle, authorities said, and even though Aulton reportedly locked his brakes, he struck the right front side of the Cadillac and was thrown off the bike. [Read more…]

Motorcyclist flown to UT after car-motorcycle crash in Clinton

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A motorcyclist was flown by medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville after a car-motorcycle crash on Clinch Avenue in south Clinton on Monday, authorities said.

The Clinton Police Department and Anderson County EMS both responded to the crash.

The CPD said it doesn’t have any other information yet.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Driver flown to hospital by Lifestar after crashing into tree on Melton Lake Drive

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Melton-Lake-Drive-Crash-Johnston-Boucher-ORPD-ORFD-April-11-2016

Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Matthew Johnston, right, and Sergeant Ron Boucher, center, investigate a single-vehicle crash on Melton Lake Drive on Monday, April 11, 2016. The Oak Ridge Fire Department also responded, and so did Anderson County EMS. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A male driver was flown to a hospital by a medical helicopter after going down an embankment and crashing into a tree alongside Melton Lake Drive on Monday, authorities said.

The single-vehicle crash was reported at about 12:16 p.m. Monday across from the entrance to Melton Lake Park. Rescuers reported that the driver was conscious.

The man was taken by ambulance to a peninsula near the UT-Battelle finish-line tower near the south end of Melton Lake Park, where a University of Tennessee Lifestar helicopter picked him up. The Lifestar helicopter landed at about 12:54 p.m. and left about 15 minutes later.

The car, a blue Toyota Camry LE, went down a small embankment off the west side of the road, the southbound lane, where it stopped in brush, facing north, after reportedly hitting the tree. Rescuers reported that they had to remove the roof, and it was peeled away from the top of the car, which was about 30-40 feet off the road. [Read more…]

No one injured, but medical oxygen tanks explode in Dutch Valley Road fire

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Firefighters from Oliver Springs, Marlow, and Medford responded to a fire on Dutch Valley Road on Sunday, April 10, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

No one was injured, but oxygen tanks that appeared to be medical exploded in a fire on Dutch Valley Road on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

The fire was reported at about 1:01 p.m. Sunday at 2757 Dutch Valley Road. No one was inside the home at the time of the fire, said Wes Horton, Marlow Volunteer Fire Department captain.

The home was destroyed. The cause wasn’t immediately known, Horton said.

Besides Marlow, firefighters also responded from Oliver Springs and Medford. There were a total of a dozen firefighters and four fire trucks. Anderson County EMS was also on standby.

The fire was contained in about 30 minutes. [Read more…]