Oak Ridge Today

Woman injured in Friday crash in stable condition at UT Medical Center

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Mindy Carter

Mindy Carter (Photo used with family’s permission)

 

The woman trapped and injured after a trailer carrying a loader crashed into the car she was driving in Oak Ridge on Friday was in stable condition at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville on Tuesday, a spokesperson said.

Arminda “Mindy” Carter, 32, of Oak Ridge was flown to the UT Medical Center by a Lifestar helicopter after the Friday evening crash on Emory Valley Road at Carnegie Drive in east Oak Ridge.

Both legs were broken in the crash and she had broken ribs and right shoulder, as well as multiple lacerations and a torn quad, said Carter’s brother, Justin Pruitt.

She had a surgery on her left leg, which was broken above the ankle and below the knee, on Friday night, Pruitt said.

She was scheduled to have a surgery on a broken femur in her right leg on Tuesday, Pruitt said Monday evening. [Read more…]

Police: Trailer came loose from truck before crashing into car on Friday

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Car-Trailer-Crash-Emory-Valley-Road-Sept-2-2016-1-Web

The crash between a car and trailer with a small loader on it on Emory Valley Road on Friday, Sept. 2, 2016, happened after the trailer came loose from a truck hitch and crossed into an oncoming lane, where it hit the car, authorities said. It took the Oak Ridge Fire Department and rescuers about 55 minutes to free the female driver pinned inside the car, and they used a tow truck to help lift the trailer and loader to take weight off the driver, Mindy Carter, 32, of Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The crash between a car and trailer with a small loader on it on Emory Valley Road on Friday happened after the trailer came loose from a truck hitch and crossed into an oncoming lane, where it hit the car, authorities said.

The 1994 GMC truck was being driven east on Emory Valley Road at about 5:29 p.m. Friday by Gerald D. Cureton, 71, of Knoxville, when the two-vehicle crash occurred at Carnegie Drive, according to an Oak Ridge Police Department crash report.

The truck was towing a trailer with a small Case four-wheeled skid steer loader.

Headed west, in the opposite direction, was Arminda “Mindy” Carter, 32, of Oak Ridge. She was driving a 2010 Toyota Camry four-door sedan, the report said.

As the two vehicles approached the intersection, the trailer came free of the hitch used to secure it to the truck, according to the ORPD crash report. [Read more…]

Police investigate car-pedestrian crash on Turnpike

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak-Ridge-Turnpike-Car-Pedestrian-Crash-Sept-7-2016-2-Web

The Oak Ridge Police Department investigated a crash between a car and pedestrian on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Wednesday morning, Sept. 7, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:05 a.m.

The Oak Ridge Police Department investigated a crash between a car and pedestrian on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Wednesday morning.

The collision was reported sometime around 7 a.m. in a westbound lane near Kentucky Fried Chicken in central Oak Ridge.

The pedestrian, who was not identified, was injured and taken to the hospital. His condition wasn’t immediately available. [Read more…]

Miraculous: Woman survives when trailer, small loader crash into car

Posted at
By 8 Comments

Car-Trailer-Crash-Emory-Valley-Road-Sept-2-2016-6-web

Rescuers said it was a miracle that a woman survived when a trailer carrying a small loader crashed into her Toyota Camry on Emory Valley Road on Friday evening, Sept. 2, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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

Rescuers said it was a miracle that a woman survived when a trailer carrying a small loader crashed into her Toyota Camry on Emory Valley Road on Friday evening.

It took the Oak Ridge Fire Department about 55 minutes to remove the woman, who was pinned inside the car. She was flown by a Lifestar medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.

The woman, who was not identified, was talking to rescuers, authorities said. Her condition wasn’t clear, but she was reported to be conscious and alert.

“That’s probably the worst extrication I’ve seen where the person was still alive,” Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said. “There was an angel with her today.” [Read more…]

Roane crash during police pursuit kills Powell woman; driver, 15, injured

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Poplar Creek Road Crash Aug 24 2016 1

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…]

Vehicular homicide, other charges sent to grand jury in Clinton Highway crash

Posted at
By 4 Comments

Scott-Gray-Hearing-Aug-11-2016

Scott Gray, who has been charged with vehicular homicide, among other counts, is pictured above in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division I, in Clinton on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers testified Thursday that a driver charged with vehicular homicide smelled of alcohol and said he had been drinking and had taken two anti-anxiety pills before a two-vehicle crash on Clinton Highway in April that resulted in the death of a 23-year-old Heiskell woman.

There was a half-empty bottle of whiskey found between the driver’s seat and the rocker panel of the 1993 Eagle four-door sedan, according to testimony by a crash witness and THP Trooper Isaiah Lloyd, the lead trooper in the investigation. Lloyd testified that he saw a glass marijuana pipe with residue in the center console of the car, a marijuana joint inside a prescription bottle, and at least six beer cans on the passenger floorboard of the car, although it wasn’t clear if the cans were empty or full.

The THP said Scott Gray, 26, of Knoxville, was driving north on Clinton Highway in the Eagle sedan near Mehaffey Road on Thursday evening, April 28, when he turned into the path of a southbound 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicle driven by Kimberly Williamson, 32, of Knoxville. The SUV driven by Williamson hit the car driven by Gray.

The passenger side of the Eagle had significant damage, and passenger Jessica Miner Taylor, 23, of Heiskell, was trapped and critically injured. After she was extricated, she was flown by a Lifestar medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, authorities said. She was immediately taken into the operating room because her bladder was torn from the crash, Lloyd said in arrest warrants filed in May.

Gray was taken by ambulance to UT Medical Center the day of the crash. Williamson had minor injuries, and she was taken in a personal vehicle to Tennova North, where she was treated and released, authorities said earlier.

Miner died from her injuries about a week after the crash, on Friday, May 6, according to her obituary. [Read more…]

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

Posted at
By 6 Comments

Oak-Ridge-Turnpike-and-Illinois-Avenue-Crash-Aug-14-2016

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…]

ORPD, THP investigating truck-motorcycle crash

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak-Ridge-Turnpike-and-Illinois-Avenue-Crash-Aug-14-2016

The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a crash between a motorcycle and a city electric truck on Sunday morning, Aug. 14, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 9:40 a.m. Aug. 15.

The Oak Ridge Police Department and Tennessee Highway Patrol were investigating a crash between a motorcycle and a city electric truck on Sunday morning.

The crash was reported at about 7 a.m. Sunday at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue.

The driver of the motorcycle was taken to Methodist Medical Center, authorities said.

The intersection remained closed as of about 9 a.m. Sunday.

Note: Please see newer story here for more information. It includes ORPD and THP reports on the crash.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Driver in alleged hit-and-run with pedestrians faces more charges

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Steven Ray Buxton

Steven Ray Buxton

The driver in an alleged hit-and-run that injured two female pedestrians on East Tennessee Avenue on Monday afternoon is facing more charges, in addition to aggravated assault, according to court records.

Steven Ray Buxton, 62, of Jefferson Avenue in Oak Ridge, has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, driving under the influence, and failure to maintain a lane, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

The women were struck by a vehicle on East Tennessee Avenue near Towne Road at about 1:30 p.m. Monday as several pedestrians were crossing the road from Gallo Loco restaurant, which is on the south side of East Tennessee, to the north side of the road, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

In a press release earlier this week, the ORPD said a black truck had stopped for the pedestrians while they crossed the street. A beige Toyota Corolla, which was traveling behind the black truck, drove onto the sidewalk, passing the black truck, and struck two women, the press release said. The Toyota Corolla then allegedly fled the scene. [Read more…]

Alleged hit-and-run crash sends two to hospital; suspect charged

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

An alleged hit-and-run crash on East Tennessee Avenue injured two women on Monday afternoon, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 1:30 p.m. Monday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

The women were struck by a vehicle on East Tennessee Avenue near Town Road as several pedestrians were crossing the road from Gallo Loco restaurant, which is on the south side of East Tennessee, to the north side of the road, the ORPD said.

Officers said a black truck had stopped for the pedestrians while they crossed the street. A beige Toyota Corolla, which was traveling behind the black truck, drove onto the sidewalk, passing the black truck, and struck two women, a press release said. The Toyota Corolla then allegedly fled the scene. [Read more…]

Harriman man killed in Roane County crash

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

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…]

One driver possibly injured when SUV rolls in two-car crash on Turnpike

Posted at
By 2 Comments

Oak Ridge Turnpike Illinois Avenue Crash July 21 2016

One driver was possibly injured and had to be extricated by the Oak Ridge Fire Department after a two-car crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike near Illinois Avenue on Thursday, July 21, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A driver was possibly injured when his sport utility vehicle rolled after colliding with another SUV on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

The crash was reported in the westbound lanes of Oak Ridge Turnpike just east of Illinois Avenue at about 1:38 p.m. Thursday.

Authorities said Charles W. Rhoads, 70, Oak Ridge, was driving west in the left lane in a 2002 GMC Envoy SUV when he tried to move over to the right lane, hitting the left side of a 2005 Ford Escape SUV driven by Carla F. Wheeler, 48, of Kingston.

The Envoy driven by Rhoads turned over onto its driver side after the collision, a crash report said. Rhoads was trapped, and the Oak Ridge Fire Department used power tools and a crew to remove him before he was taken by ambulance to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]