Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge police seek suspect in Monday night shooting, crash

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Larry Dewayne Williams Wanted Poster

The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified a person of interest in the shooting on Wakefield Road and crash on North Illinois Avenue on Monday, and they consider the suspect to be armed and dangerous, authorities said.

The person of interest has been described as Larry Dewayne Williams, a black male, 28 years old, and 6’1″ and 165 pounds, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

“Extreme caution should be used if he is observed,” the press release said.

Meanwhile, the Oak Ridge Police Department is taking steps to prevent further shootings on Wakefield Road. There were three in 48 hours, and one arrest has already been made.

“We’re working actively with other agenices to suppress vehicle and pedestrian traffic in areas which cause us concern,” Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said Tuesday. [Read more…]

Third shooting on Wakefield Road in 48 hours, followed by car crash, fleeing driver

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Car Crash at Hilltop and West Outer Drive

Police say the driver of this silver Infiniti fled on foot after a three-car crash at North Illinois Avenue and West Outer Drive on Monday night, just a few hours after a shooting was reported a short distance away on Wakefield Road, the third shooting there in 48 hours. Police have since described the driver as a person of interest in the Monday night shooting and crash. Pictured above at center are ORPD officers James Elkins and Garrett Robbins. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:35 p.m.

A shooting was reported on Wakefield Road on Monday evening, the third shooting on the street in 48 hours. The shooting was followed a few hours later by a three-car crash at the intersection of West Outer Drive and North Illinois Avenue. Police couldn’t immediately say if the two events were connected.

There didn’t appear to be any injuries in the shooting, which occurred sometime between about 8:15 and 8:30 p.m. and left some 21 casings in the street. Residents in one Wakefield Road home said two bullets pierced a bedroom, but fortunately, no one was in it at the time.

Authorities said minor injuries were reported in the crash, which was reported at about 10:15 p.m. near the Ian’s Market gas station and convience store. One person reportedly fled from the crash, and one witness said the man darted into a wooded area behind the east corner of Ian’s Market, headed north toward Oliver Springs.

The Oak Ridge Police Department and Anderson County Sheriff’s Department swarmed the area. An ACSD canine unit responded to help search for the person of interest, but as of early Tuesday morning, officers hadn’t found the man. [Read more…]

Police: Hit-and-run driver in stolen vehicle that crashed arrested in woods at ORNL

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Highway 95 Hit and Run Suspect

The Oak Ridge Police Department said officers arrested a suspect, recovered a stolen car, and cleared a crash on State Route 95 between Bear Creek and Bethel Valley roads on Wednesday afternoon. (Photo by ORPD via Twitter) 

 

A Knoxville man who allegedly crashed a vehicle that had been reported stolen was arrested Wednesday afternoon after he fled into an area between Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex in west Oak Ridge, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to the single-vehicle crash on State Route 95 at 2:19 p.m. Wednesday, September 16. The crash occurred as the vehicle left the roadway while proceeding northbound, between Bethel Valley Road and Bear Creek Road, a City of Oak Ridge press release said.

The driver of the crashed vehicle fled eastbound on foot toward the federal sites before officers arrived, the release said. Y-12 and Oak Ridge National Laboratory protective force security officers were notified due to the close proximity to the federal reservations.

“Pro Force Security personnel located and detained the driver of the vehicle almost an hour later in a wooded area on ORNL property, east of Highway 95,” the release said. [Read more…]

WYSH: Former UT linebacker killed in Sunday morning crash in Clinton

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Clinton Police Department Badge

Information from WYSH Radio

A former University of Tennessee linebacker was killed in an early-morning, single-vehicle accident in front of Ray Varner Ford in Clinton on Sunday.

Clinton Police Department officers responded to a report of an accident shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday on North Charles Seivers Boulevard near Miller Road and upon their arrival, found a Chevy Tahoe on its roof with heavy damage.

The only person in the vehicle, 31-year-old Daniel Brooks of New Market, had to be extricated from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators determined that Brooks had been headed west on Seivers when his SUV left the side of the road and traveled some distance in a ditchline before striking a driveway culvert, which caused it to become airborne. The Tahoe landed on its front end and flipped several times before coming to rest on its roof. [Read more…]

SUV hit by two vehicles, overturned in fatal crash on South Illinois

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South Illinois Avenue Crash on Aug. 24, 2015

The woman who died in a three-vehicle crash on South Illinois Avenue on Monday afternoon was a passenger in a Mazda sports utility vehicle that was hit by a southbound van that crossed into the northbound lanes, and the SUV was also struck by a northbound car, causing the SUV to roll, authorities said. 

 

The woman who died in a three-vehicle crash on South Illinois Avenue on Monday afternoon was a passenger in a Mazda sports utility vehicle that was hit by a southbound van that crossed into the northbound lanes, and the SUV was also struck by a northbound car, causing it to roll, authorities said.

The crash occurred at about 3:22 p.m. Monday, August 24.

The Oak Ridge Police Department determined that a Toyota van, driven by Marguerite Windham of Knoxville, was traveling south on South Illinois Avenue and crossed into the northbound lanes of travel for unknown reasons, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. [Read more…]

Knoxville woman dies after South Illinois Avenue crash

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South Illinois Avenue Crash on Aug. 24, 2015

A Knoxville woman died after a three-vehicle crash on South Illinois Avenue on Monday afternoon, authorities said.

 

A Knoxville woman died after a three-vehicle crash on South Illinois Avenue on Monday afternoon, authorities said.

Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said more information could be released later today (Tuesday, August 25). The female’s husband has been informed of the fatality, Akagi said.

There were multiple injuries in the crash, which was near the Centrifuge Way interchange, and one person was flown by a UT Lifestar medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. [Read more…]

Three-vehicle crash with injuries reported on South Illinois at Centrifuge

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South Illinois Avenue Crash on Aug. 24, 2015

Injuries were reported and one person was flown to a hospital by a medical helicopter after a three-vehicle crash on South Illinois Avenue on Monday afternoon.

 

A three-vehicle crash with injuries was reported on South Illinois Avenue near Centrifuge Way on Monday afternoon.

One vehicle was upside down, resting on its roof, and one person was reportedly flown by a UT Lifestar medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were involved, how many were injured, or how many others were taken to the hospital.

The crash was just down the hill toward Oak Ridge from the Centrifuge Way overpass. [Read more…]

Thirteen people, eight vehicles involved in two crashes on Edgemoor Road

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Edgemoor Road Bridge Crash

One driver was possibly injured and cited for a failure to use due care after this three-vehicle crash on Edgemoor Road on Friday afternoon left one vehicle partially stuck on the concrete rail of the bridge over the Clinch River. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Thirteen people in eight vehicles were involved in two of the three crashes reported on Edgemoor Road on Thursday and Friday last week.

But only one person had possible injuries in those two crashes, according to Oak Ridge Police Department reports.

The first crash, a five-vehicle wreck, was reported on Edgemoor Road about two-tenths of a mile west of Lakeview Circle at about 5:39 p.m. Thursday, August 13. None of the 10 occupants of the five vehicles was injured, according to reports.

ORPD Officer Shane Tilley reported that a 1991 Chevrolet pickup driven west on Edgemoor Road, also known as State Route 170, by Jeremy P. Bentley, 46, of Knoxville, was unable to stop when traffic stopped in front of him.

Bentley then struck the rear of a 2014 Dodge pickup driven by Charles E. Dishman, 35, of Clinton, which in turn hit the rear of a 2012 Hyundai sedan driven by William M. Cunningham of Maryville. Cunningham’s sedan then hit the rear of a 2008 Nissan Altima driven by Chong Kim, 74, of Knoxville, which hit the rear of a 2009 Nissan Altima driven by Deena A. Chase, 48, of Knoxville. [Read more…]

Edgemoor Road bridge temporarily closed after crash leaves car stuck on rail

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Edgemoor Road Bridge Crash

The right rear tire of a vehicle was stuck on the concrete rail of the Edgemoor Road bridge over the Clinch River after a two-vehicle crash between Oak Ridge and Claxton on Friday afternoon. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The right rear tire of a vehicle was stuck on the concrete rail of the Edgemoor Road bridge over the Clinch River after a two-vehicle crash between Oak Ridge and Claxton on Friday afternoon.

The crash was reported at about 1:55 p.m. Friday. Authorities temporarily shut down Edgemoor Road at the bridge. Emergency workers were able to pull the vehicle off the rail at about 2:50 p.m. The stuck vehicle appeared to a compact SUV.

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.

Concrete Rail at Edgemoor Road Bridge

The concrete rail on the Oak Ridge side of the Edgemoor Road bridge. The Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton is pictured in the background.

 

THP releases report on ORHS football player crash

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Authorities said the three Oak Ridge High School football players injured in a Tuesday afternoon crash were not wearing seat belts, and the driver has been charged after the car he was driving crashed into a utility pole in Blount County.

Preliminary information from the Tennessee Highway Patrol said the 2000 Ford Taurus was being driven northbound on U.S. 321, also known as Lamar Alexander Parkway, by a 17-year-old unidentified juvenile from Oak Ridge, when the male driver let the vehicle exit the northbound lane, where it then entered into the center turning lane.

“The driver then crossed over the turn lane and entered into the southbound lanes of Highway 321,” the THP said. “The vehicle then crossed over both the southbound lanes and shoulder, where it struck a curb before it entered into a grass field area. The vehicle then struck a high spot of earth in the field, which made the vehicle go airborne.” [Read more…]

Two ORHS football players listed in serious condition after car crash, hospital says

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Jaylen Nickerson and McMinn County

Junior running back Jaylen Nickerson (29) scored two touchdowns for the Oak Ridge Wildcats at McMinn County on Friday, September 19, 2014. Nickerson was one of three Oak Ridge High School football players injured in a Tuesday afternoon car crash in Blount County. (File photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This story was updated at 4:41 p.m.

Two Oak Ridge High School football players are listed in serious condition at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville after a Tuesday afternoon car crash in Blount County, a spokesperson said Wednesday afternoon.

Jaylen Nickerson, who will be a senior this year, and DeVonta Mitchell, who will be a junior, are both at the hospital in serious condition, spokesperson Susan Wyatt said.

Davon Middleton, a third ORHS student-athlete injured in the crash, was reportedly taken to Blount Memorial, treated for a concussion, and released.

Nickerson is a running back, Middleton is a defensive back, and Mitchell is a wide receiver. Nickerson was one of two main running backs last year. T.J. Allison was the other. [Read more…]

Driver of pickup truck that killed one, injured nine charged with homicide

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Lee Cromwell

Lee Cromwell

The driver of the Dodge Ram pickup truck that backed through the parking lot at Midtown Community Center after July 4 fireworks, killing one and injuring nine, has been charged with homicide, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment, authorities said.

Lee Cromwell, 65, was arrested at 11:40 a.m. Wednesday at the Oak Ridge Police Department without incident by patrol officers, authorities said.

Cromwell’s truck allegedly hit James Robinson, 37, of Knoxville, killing him, the ORPD said after the crash.

Cromwell has been charged with one count of vehicular homicide, one count of criminally negligent homicide, one count of reckless homicide, 12 counts of aggravated assault, one count of reckless endangerment, and one count of driving with a license that is suspended or revoked, Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said. [Read more…]