Oak Ridge Today

Man charged with homicide in crash that killed 3-year-old boy

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Jason Robert Braden

Jason Robert Braden II

 

An Anderson County man has been charged in an 11-count indictment that includes vehicular homicide by intoxication after a crash that killed a three-year-old boy and injured at least three other people in Oak Ridge last year.

Jason Robert Braden III, 3, died in the two-vehicle crash, which was considered a mass casualty event. It was reported at about 5:20 p.m. Friday, January 13, 2017, at the intersection of Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive.

Charged in the 11-count indictment is Jason Robert Braden II, 24, of Bush Road in Marlow. The charges against Braden include vehicular homicide by intoxication, vehicular homicide by recklessness, four counts of reckless aggravated assault, reckless endangerment when a deadly weapon (a motor vehicle) is involved, driving under the influence, driving without a license, speeding, and violation of the child restraint law.

The Anderson County Grand Jury in Clinton indicted Braden on February 27. He was arrested March 4. His bond has been set at $125,000, and he was released from the Anderson County Detention Facility on Monday, March 19. He has an arraignment set for Monday morning, March 26, in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton. [Read more…]

Fatal crash: One adult released from hospital; police officers start memorial with stuffed animals

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Oak Ridge Police Department officers started a memorial with stuffed animals on Saturday morning for a three-year-old child killed in a fatal crash at Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive on Friday evening, Jan. 13, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

One adult passenger injured in a fatal two-vehicle crash in Oak Ridge on Friday has been released from the hospital, a city official said Saturday. And Oak Ridge Police Department officers started a memorial at the crash site, leaving stuffed animals there Saturday morning.

The fatal crash was reported at about 5:15 p.m. Friday at the intersection of Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive. Police said the crash killed one three-year-old child and injured another child, and it also injured four adults. The five people who were injured and the child who died were all taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, a Level I trauma center. All six had been in the same vehicle, an older model dark-colored or black sport utility vehicle.

On Saturday, Sarah Self, spokesperson for the City of Oak Ridge, said one of the adult passengers was released from UT Medical Center.

The condition of the other injured patients (three adults and one child) was not available, Self said.

Five people in the second vehicle involved in the crash, a newer silver Volkswagen sedan, were not injured, Self said. There were four adults and one child in that car. [Read more…]

Child dies, five injured in crash

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A three-year-old died and five other people were taken to a trauma center in Knoxville after a two-vehicle crash in Oak Ridge at Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive on Friday evening, Jan. 13, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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

A three-year-old died and five other people were taken to a trauma center in Knoxville after a serious crash in Oak Ridge on Friday evening, authorities said.

The fatal two-vehicle crash involved 11 people. It was reported at about 5:15 p.m. Friday at Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive.

Those taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, a Level 1 Trauma Center, were four adults and two children. One of those children is the three-year-old who died (the child was initially reported to be four). The four adults and two children were all in one vehicle, an older model dark-colored or black sport utility vehicle, or SUV.

Five people in a second vehicle—four adults and one child—were reported to not have injuries, according to the City of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Firefighters stop Cedar Hill Park fire from spreading

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The Oak Ridge Fire Department douses a bench that caught fire, possibly due to cigarettes discarded in mulch, at Cedar Hill Park, a beloved community-built playground, on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A fire that burned a bench at Cedar Hill Park—a beloved community-built playground—might have been started by cigarettes discarded in mulch, authorities said.

The fire was reported at about 10:22 p.m. Tuesday. Firefighters were able to extinguish it within 10 minutes or less.

The quick response likely prevented additional damage to the playground on a windy night, Oak Ridge Fire Department Battalion Chief David Harrington said.

Firefighters don’t think the fire was intentional, Harrington said.

He said the bench was made of a plastic composite-like material. [Read more…]

Driver gone, but reports to ER later after vehicle goes off road, ignites

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The driver was gone but reported to an emergency room later after a Ford Explorer went about 40 feet down an embankment along South Illinois Avenue and started on fire on Friday, Nov. 20, 2015, authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The driver was gone when firefighters responded, but the driver reported to an emergency room later after a Ford Explorer went about 40 feet down an embankment along South Illinois Avenue and started on fire last Friday, authorities said.

The vehicle went down an embankment on the right side of the road headed down a big hill into central Oak Ridge, just south of Scarboro Road/Lafayette Drive, on Friday, November 20. The Explorer went sideways down the embankment as it went down the hill and ended up next to a culvert, Oak Ridge Fire Department Battalion Chief David Harrington said.

The northbound lanes of South Illinois Avenue were temporarily blocked as firefighters put out the vehicle fire. [Read more…]

Man taken to hospital, child not injured when truck, boat, trailer roll into water

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A man was taken to the hospital and a child was not injured when a pickup truck, boat, and trailer rolled backward into the Clinch River at Solway Park late Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

The man was pulling the boat out of the water when a young child inside the pickup truck knocked the vehicle out of gear, Oak Ridge Fire Department Battalion Chief David Harrington said. The truck and a boat and trailer that were attached rolled backward into the water at about 4:50 p.m. Thursday.

The man went into the water to get the child and was able to save the kid, who was not injured, but the man got cold from being in the water and was taken to the hospital for an evaluation, Harrington said. [Read more…]

Family escapes, pets rescued from Delaware Avenue fire

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Randy Word and Jessica Millette Family at Delaware Avenue House Fire on Nov. 14, 2015

A family escaped from a house fire on Delaware Avenue on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 14, 2015, and dogs and a sugar glider were rescued. Pictured above from left are Zaresa, Demetrion, Randy Word, and Akeyrha. Also pictured are two of the three dogs that live at the home, Scale, front, and Breezy, back. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 3:13 p.m.

A family escaped and pets were rescued from a house fire on Delaware Avenue on Saturday afternoon.

The fire was reported at 12:09 p.m. Saturday.

Resident Jessica Millette said a neighbor banged on the door and yelled: “Get out! Get out!”

She went to investigate and saw flames at the back door of the house at 401 Delaware Avenue.

“I yelled, ‘Get out! Get out!,'” Millette said. “There’s fire!” [Read more…]

Co-workers, firefighters react in minutes to save a life

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Linda Bridges and Michael Beehan

Linda Bridges has a hug for co-worker Michael Beehan, who started CPR when she experienced cardiac arrest. (Submitted photo)

 

Linda Bridges has returned to her desk at MS Technology Inc. after a four-month absence.

To Kurt Oschman, MSTI president and chief executive officer, that is a miracle resulting from the training and collaboration of her co-workers and the first responders from the Oak Ridge Fire Department who saved her life.

The story of Bridges’ miracle began Feb. 25, when she collapsed at her desk. Co-workers quickly called 911, and two co-workers began assessing her vital signs. At one point, she had stopped breathing and had no pulse.

“With excellent collaboration on decisions about appropriate first aid for Linda’s condition, Michael Beehan began administering CPR, with Karen Hamilton providing on-the-ground assistance,” Oschman wrote in the company’s recent newsletter. The two determined that Bridges needed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and then Hamilton continued to check Bridges’ vital signs as Beehan provided CPR. [Read more…]

ORFD responds to large fire at former Miller-Brewer Department Store in Harriman

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Miller-Brewer Department Store Fire at Harriman

Several fire departments, including Oak Ridge, battle a blaze on Thursday, January 9, at a vacant building in Harriman that once housed the Miller-Brewer Department Store. (Photos by Tom Scott)

 

Several local fire departments, including Oak Ridge’s, battled a blaze on Thursday, January 9, at a vacant building in Harriman that once housed the Miller-Brewer Department Store at the corner of North Roane Street and Crescent Street.

The fire was reported at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

The large building has three stories and a basement, and it has been vacant for 15 years or so, according to spectators. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge firefighters save five lives, fire trucks help, chief says

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Oak Ridge Firefighters Lifesaving Medals and Harness Family

Oak Ridge firefighter and engineer Michael Vanosdale, left; Captain Eric Rackard, second from left; and paramedic Austin Keathley, right, helped save the life of Jason Harness, 50, second from right, on July 21. The three firefighters received Lifesaving Medals during a September 5 ceremony for three new fire engines. Also pictured is Nicole Harness. “These are the men that saved my husband’s life,” she said.

 

Oak Ridge firefighters have saved five lives so far this year, and the department’s fire trucks—which carry $30,000 worth of medical gear, including cardiac equipment—played a key role, Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said this month.

The five lives have all been saved since January; they were cardiac saves, Kerley said.

“That wouldn’t happen without these trucks,” the chief said during a September 5 ceremony to unveil three new Sutphen fire engines, the first for the Oak Ridge Fire Department in about 16 years.

Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley

Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley

During that ceremony, three firefighters received Lifesaving Medals for their role in saving the life of Jason Harness, 50, on July 21 at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue.

Harness’ wife, Nicole Harness, reported that her husband was in the car and not breathing that summer evening. The rescuers who responded moved Jason Harness from the vehicle to the ground, where “he was found to be pulseless, not breathing, and unresponsive,” Assistant Fire Chief Josh Waldo said.

Harness had had a massive heart attack, with 100 percent blockage. [Read more…]