Oak Ridge Today

KCSO identifies 19-year-old killed in Solway crash

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A 19-year-old man died when a car slid off the road at the intersection of Solway and Guinn roads and hit a tree in Solway on Wednesday morning, authorities said. (Photo courtesy WATE-TV/Knoxville)

 

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office has identified the 19-year-old killed in a Wednesday morning crash in Solway.

The young man was James Cryder, the KCSO said.

His passenger, 20-year-old Jacob Raley, is being treated at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.

Authorities said that Cryder died after a 1996 Toyota Corolla slid off the road at the intersection of Solway and Guinn roads and hit a tree. Officers on the scene said the car slid off the road due to weather and speeding. [Read more…]

Man dies after car slides off road in Solway

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Knox County Sheriff Badge

A man died after a car slid off the road and hit a tree in Solway on Wednesday morning, authorities said.

The man has been identified, but his name will not be released until relatives have been notified, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said.

A male passenger is being treated at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, but he has not been identified yet.

Officers on the scene said the car slid off the road due to weather and speeding, the KCSO said. Neither man was wearing a seatbelt. They were in a 1996 Toyota Corolla.

The fatal crash occurred at 9:40 a.m. on Solway at Guinn.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

OS man faces charges after head-on collision injures three on Hwy 61

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An Oliver Springs man is facing charges, including driving under the influence, after a head-on collision injured three people in two vehicles on Highway 61 west of Oliver Springs late Friday afternoon. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

OLIVER SPRINGS—An Oliver Springs man is facing charges, including driving under the influence, after a head-on collision injured three people in two vehicles on Highway 61 west of Oliver Springs late Friday afternoon, authorities said.

Ryan P. Price, 33, of Oliver Springs, will be charged with DUI, vehicular assault, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a firearm while under the influence, a due care violation, failure to maintain lane, violation of the financial responsibility law, and a failure to carry registration, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The THP said a 2003 Dodge Durango driven by Price was traveling east in the westbound lane on State Route 61 near Scandlyn Hollow Road in Roane County at about 4:55 p.m. Friday.

A 2014 Jeep Wrangler driven west by Rodger Mattox, 66, of Oliver Springs, was also in the westbound lane, which was its travel lane, the THP said. [Read more…]

Four people injured after SUV rolls in two-vehicle crash

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Four people were injured in a two-vehicle crash that caused an SUV to roll at the intersection of Manhattan and North Purdue avenues in Woodland on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 16, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Four people were injured and one of them was flown to a hospital by a medical helicopter after a two-vehicle crash caused an SUV to roll at the intersection of Manhattan and North Purdue avenues on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

The crash behind Food City was reported at about 2:45 p.m. Saturday. It took emergency workers about 30 minutes to remove a passenger trapped in the back seat of the GMC Envoy that rolled onto its top. The other vehicle was a Ford F150 pickup truck.

Three ambulances responded to the scene. So did the Oak Ridge Police Department and Oak Ridge Fire Department. A University of Tennessee Lifestar medical helicopter picked up one patient at Methodist Medical Center and flew that person to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. [Read more…]

No one injured after vehicle rolls in two-vehicle crash

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No one was injured in a two-vehicle crash that caused one vehicle to roll onto its top at the intersection of Athens and Atlanta roads on Friday evening, Jan. 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

No one was injured in a two-vehicle crash that caused one vehicle to roll onto its top at the intersection of Athens and Atlanta roads on Friday evening, authorities said.

The two vehicles, a white Kia Sportage and a white Chevrolet Equinox, were reportedly traveling in opposite directions on Atlanta Road when the westbound Kia reportedly turned south onto Athens Road in front of the Equinox, authorities said.

The Kia came to rest against a utility pole, but emergency workers said the pole was not damaged. The Kia had to be towed away on a tow truck, while the Equinox was still able to be driven.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

July 4 fireworks crash: Charges against driver, including homicide, sent to grand jury

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The 17 charges against an Oak Ridge man accused of killing one person and injuring 11 others in a July 4 fireworks crash at Midtown Community Center have been sent to an Anderson County grand jury. The charges against Lee Cromwell of Oak Ridge, who is pictured above, include homicide and aggravated assault. Cromwell had a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:18 p.m. Jan. 16.

The 17 charges against an Oak Ridge man accused of killing one person and injuring 11 others in a July 4 fireworks crash at Midtown Community Center have been sent to an Anderson County grand jury.

The charges against Lee Cromwell of Oak Ridge include homicide and aggravated assault. Cromwell had a five-hour preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Friday, January 15. It included testimony for the prosecution from victims, witnesses, police officers, and an automotive technician. Prosecutor Vickie Bannach was trying to establish probable cause for the charges to be sent to the grand jury.

The next step is for the Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office to present evidence to the grand jury for possible indictments against Cromwell.

Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller said he found that probable cause had been met for the charges to be bound over to the grand jury. There is no timeline for when the grand jury might hear the case. [Read more…]

Police dispute stuck-throttle claim in fatal July 4 fireworks crash, widow testifies also

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Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins testified on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, during a preliminary hearing for Lee Cromwell, an Oak Ridge resident accused of killing one person and injuring 11 others during a parking lot crash at the Midtown Community Center on July 4, 2015, after fireworks at A.K. Bissell Park. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8 a.m. Jan. 16.

An Oak Ridge police officer on Friday disputed the claim that the throttle might have been stuck on a pickup truck in a fatal July 4 crash at Midtown Community Center immediately after fireworks in A.K. Bissell Park.

Police say they’ve found no evidence of a malfunction in a Dodge Ram pickup driven backward through the crowded parking lot that night by Lee Cromwell of Oak Ridge, and there were no active recalls on the truck that would have affected the throttle. Police also used witness statements to help refute the stuck-throttle theory during a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Friday, January 15.

“Several of them (witnesses) said they heard his engine revving up and down,” Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins testified during the hearing. “If the throttle had been stuck, it would have been stuck at a consistent rpm, not up and down.”

Also Friday morning, Julia Robinson testified. She is the widow of the 37-year-old man who died, James Robinson of Knoxville. The couple was at the Midtown Community Center watching fireworks with their two daughters and a relative. [Read more…]

April trial scheduled for man facing federal gun charge after September shooting, crash

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Larry Dewayne Williams

Larry Dewayne Williams

An April trial has been scheduled for a man facing a federal gun charge after a shooting and crash in north Oak Ridge in September.

Larry Dewayne Williams was indicted by a federal grand jury in October on one count of being a convicted felon who possessed a gun and ammunition. Authorities said police found a pistol and ammunition manufactured outside Tennessee in his house and car.

The trial had initially been scheduled to start Tuesday, January 12, in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. But after reviewing the case, U.S. District Court Judge Pamela Reeves agreed late last year that Williams needed additional time to prepare his case, and government prosecutors didn’t object, according to court records. The new trial date is April 5.

The plea agreement deadline is March 29.

Williams allegedly fled from Oak Ridge police in a silver Infiniti after a September 21 shooting on Wakefield Road. After he allegedly ran from the car following a three-vehicle crash at North Illinois Avenue and West Outer Drive, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer James Elkins found an AR-15 type firearm on the passenger floorboard of Williams’ Infiniti and a semi-automatic pistol lying inside, authorities said. [Read more…]

Driver okay, but car totaled in single-vehicle rollover crash on Scarboro Road

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The driver was okay, but his vehicle was reported to be totaled when it rolled over in a single-vehicle crash on Scarboro Road on Monday afternoon, Dec. 14, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The driver was reported to be okay, but his Honda Civic was reported to be totaled when it rolled over in a single-vehicle crash on Scarboro Road on Monday afternoon.

The crash occurred up the hill from Union Valley Road and the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex. Authorities reported that the roadway was slick.

The Oak Ridge Police Department briefly closed the road while the crash was investigated and the car towed away.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Scarboro-Road-Car-Roll-over-Police-Fire-Dec-14-2015

The driver was reported to be okay, but his Honda Civic was reported to be totaled when it rolled over in a single-vehicle crash on Scarboro Road on Monday afternoon, Dec. 14, 2015. The Oak Ridge Fire Department and Oak Ridge Police Department both responded. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Clinton man dies after two-vehicle crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike

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Oak Ridge Police Department Logo

A Clinton man died after a two-vehicle crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Thursday, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 8:22 p.m. Thursday, December 10, at the intersection of the Turnpike and Wisconsin Avenue, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

Charles Edward Smith, 75, of Clinton was extricated from his vehicle by the Oak Ridge Fire Department and flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center by a UT Lifestar medical helicopter. He later died from his injuries, the ORPD said.

Smith had been driving a 2012 Volkswagen.

The second vehicle, a 1998 Cadillac, was driven by Janet Eileen Kelley, 61, of Harriman. Kelley was treated at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge.

The investigation remains ongoing and no further details will be released at this time, the ORPD said.

Woman, 80, rescued after being trapped overnight in wrecked car

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Roane County emergency workers rescued an 80-year-old woman on Monday who had been trapped overnight in a car that traveled about 250 feet from from the road, down an embankment, and into a creek, authorities said. (Photo by Roane County Sheriff’s Office via Facebook)

 

Roane County emergency workers rescued an 80-year-old woman on Monday after she was trapped overnight in a car that traveled about 250 feet from the road, down an embankment, and into a creek, authorities said.

Roane County mail carrier Kathy Payne noticed the vehicle in the wood line while on her route on Joiner Hollow Road on Monday, the Roane County Sheriff’s Office said. Payne called 911.

Roane County Sheriff’s Office Captain Tim Hawn stopped to investigate while on patrol on Joiner Hollow Road. Hawn said he heard someone crying for help, and he climbed down the embankment and discovered an 80-year-old female who was pinned in her vehicle, the RCSO said in a Facebook post.

The woman was able to speak, and she asked Hawn if he was there to get her out.

“Hawn said that he was there to help her and promised her that they would get her out,” the Sheriff’s Office said. [Read more…]

California Ave. temporarily closed, power out after SUV hits utility pole

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California-Avenue-Utility-Pole-Crash-Nov-17-2015

A mother and her son were taken to the hospital with injuries reported as non-life threatening after a small sport utility vehicle hit a utility pole on California Avenue, flipped, and landed on its top Tuesday morning, authorities said.

 

Note: This story was updated at 12:46 a.m.

A mother and her son were taken to the hospital with injuries reported to be non-life threatening after a small sport utility vehicle hit a utility pole on California Avenue, flipped, and landed on its top Tuesday morning, authorities said.

The single-vehicle crash was reported at about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. The SUV was reportedly driving north on California Avenue when it crashed.

Authorities temporarily closed a short section of California Avenue at West Arrowwood Road as utility workers repaired the pole.

In a text alert at 10:08 a.m. Tuesday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said there was a power outage in east Oak Ridge from California Avenue east, and it could affect traffic signals. The signal at Melton Lake Drive and Oak Ridge Turnpike was reported to be out.

At about 11 a.m., the Oak Ridge Electric Department said there was damage to a substation as well.

“As a result, power is expected to be off east of Florida Avenue on both sides of the Turnpike, including residents and businesses along East Emory Valley Road, for the next few hours in order to make the necessary repairs,” the Electric Department said.

The ORED reported at about 12:30 p.m. that power had been restored on the east end of Oak Ridge.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.