Oak Ridge Today

Kevin Steen, Red Sox pitching prospect from Oak Ridge, critically injured in car crash in Florida

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Oak Ridge Wildcats and Dobyns-Bennett

Kevin Steen (3) and Jaylin Henderson (2) are pictured playing basketball for the Oak Ridge Wildcats against Dobyns-Bennett in March 2014. (File photo by Ned Jilton II/Kingsport Times News)

Kevin Steen, a Boston Red Sox pitching prospect from Oak Ridge, was critically injured in a car crash in Florida late Wednesday night, according to the Red Sox and a CBS affiliate in Boston.

Steen was taken to a southwest Florida hospital, identified as Lee Memorial Hospital, in critical condition following the crash.

“The thoughts and prayers of the entire Red Sox organization are with minor league player Kevin Steen, who sustained serious injuries in a car accident in Florida last night,” the Red Sox said in a statement on Thursday morning. “The club will update his condition at the appropriate time.”

News reports said another car veered over a median and struck the SUV that Steen, 20, was driving. CBS Boston said the striking vehicle went airborne before crashing into Steen’s SUV. That striking vehicle caught fire, and the driver died on the scene, CBS Boston said.

The Red Sox selected the right-handed Steen in the ninth round of the 2014 draft. He has pitched 30 games in the minor leagues over the past three seasons, with 26 of them starts. [Read more…]

West end Weigel’s closed temporarily after car crashes through front door

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Crash at Oak Ridge Turnpike Weigels July 3 2016

The Weigel’s on Oak Ridge Turnpike in west Oak Ridge was temporarily closed Sunday afternoon, July 3, 2016, after a car crashed through the front door. Above, workers clean up about one hour after the crash. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Weigel’s gas station and convenience store on Oak Ridge Turnpike was closed temporarily Sunday afternoon after a car crashed through the front door.

It wasn’t clear how soon the store, which is in west Oak Ridge, might re-open. The front door has been removed, and workers were cleaning up about an hour after the crash, which was reported around 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

There were no immediate reports of injuries. [Read more…]

Driver dies, passenger escapes when car crashes into pond

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England Road Fatal Pond Crash

Rescuers call in a tow truck to pull a car out of a pond on England Road on Tuesday night. The driver of the car died in the crash, but the passenger escaped.

OLIVER SRINGS—A female driver died and a passenger escaped Tuesday night when a small car crashed into a private pond on England Road in Oliver Springs.

Oliver Springs Police Chief Kenneth Morgan said the driver and female passenger won’t be identified until relatives have been notified.

The crash occurred sometime before 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Property owner Marcia Pemberton said she came out of her house around then and heard screaming. At first, she thought it was family members playing at the dam at the pond. But then she realized these were different screams—screams for help, Pemberton said.

“Then I took off running,” she said.

The passenger was in a corner of the 18-foot-deep pond, hanging onto a tree and unable to get out because of the steep banks. There’s a car in the water, the woman told Pemberton. [Read more…]

Crashes, vehicle speeds down near red-light cameras, reports say

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Red-light Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue

The largest crash reduction near red-light cameras occurred near the system at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue/Lafayette Drive.

There has been an overall decrease in the number of car crashes near red-light camera systems installed at four locations in Oak Ridge five years ago, and vehicle speeds have dropped near two schools, officials said.

Council members had requested information about crash frequency and history as the controversial five-year red-light camera contract, approved in August 2008, comes up for renewal in April. The crash information, as well as data on vehicle speeds, is included in the agenda packet for a Monday night Oak Ridge City Council work session.

The information said the largest crash reduction occurred at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Lafayette Drive/New York Avenue. Accidents there fell from 86 to 58, or roughly 33 percent, and injuries fell from 25 to 13, about a 50 percent reduction.

The totals compared the number of crashes from one four-year period starting March 2005 and ending March 2009, and a second period starting April 2009 and ending in November 2013, or a little more than four years. [Read more…]

Oliver Springs man dies in two-car crash on Schaad Road

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An Oliver Springs man died in a two-car crash on Schaad Road on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

James Shultz, 50, was driving west on Schaad Road in a 2005 Chevrolet Impala when he apparently crossed the center line and hit an eastbound 2004 Ford Escape driven by Kevyn Sterchi, 18, of Knoxville, the Knoxville Police Department said, citing the findings of a preliminary investigation.

Shultz was not wearing a seatbelt, the KPD said in a Thursday morning statement. He was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. [Read more…]

Three injured in Thursday car crash

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Oak Ridge Turnpike and Rutgers Avenue Accident

Three people were injured when two vehicles crashed Thursday night at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Rutgers Avenue. (Photo by Tom Scott)

Three people were injured in a two-vehicle accident at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Rutgers Avenue on Thursday night, authorities said.

The first vehicle, a 2000 Ford Taurus, was driven by Joseph Elliott Scales, an 18-year-old Oak Ridge resident. Scales said he was trying to turn left onto westbound Oak Ridge Turnpike from the northbound lanes of South Rutgers Avenue and had a green arrow during the 7:50 p.m. crash, an Oak Ridge Police Department report said.

[Read more…]