Oak Ridge Today

Updated: Driver charged with DUI in four-car crash that damaged home

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Robertsville Road Car and House Crash

No one was injured in a crash involving four vehicles and a house on Robertsville Road on Thursday night.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 4:20 p.m.

The driver of a car that allegedly caused a four-vehicle crash and damaged a home on Robertsville Road has been charged with driving under the influence, authorities said.

Officers located Brandon Kyle Baez, 18, of Oak Ridge, after he walked away from the crash at 184 Robertsville Road and tried to hide in a wooded area, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Ben Higgins said in a warrant.

The crash occurred at about 10:40 p.m. Thursday just east of North Illinois Avenue. An SUV-type vehicle driven by Baez allegedly left the road, drove through the front yard of one home on Robertsville Road, crashed into a Ford four-door sedan parked in the driveway, and pushed it about three or four car lengths into a neighbor’s front yard—and reportedly caused a collision with two cars parked in the neighbor’s driveway (the home of Mike and Judy Coen).

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Reports: Man drags constable while fleeing, crashes into deputy’s cruiser

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Larry Eugene Ward

Larry Eugene Ward

An Anderson County man suspected of fleeing a crash on Clinton Highway last week was found slumped over with blood on his face in a damaged car that reeked inside of alcohol, authorities said. The suspect, Larry Eugene Ward, fled from officers, and he dragged three emergency responders with him and almost ran over a constable’s legs before crashing into three other vehicles on Bull Run Road, including a deputy’s patrol car, authorities said.

The constable, Jennings F. Foust, 64, was dragged almost 50 feet before Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Robert J. Collins was able to pull him from the vehicle, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

While trying to flee, Ward crashed into three more vehicles, including Collins’ patrol car and Foust’s car, and hit or nearly hit an ambulance, authorities said.

Ward, 34, of Clinton, remained jailed Wednesday at the Anderson County Detention Facility on a slew of charges including aggravated assault, evading arrest, reckless driving, public intoxication, and driving under the influence. [Read more…]

OSPD, THP have sobriety checkpoint, work to reduce traffic fatalities

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Tennessee Highway Patrol and Oliver Springs Police Department

Pictured above from left to right are THP Trooper Kevin Jones, OSPD Patrolman Shannon Runyan, THP Sgt. Dennis Smith, and OSPD Sgt. Rick Hamby. (Photo courtesy OSPD)

 

The Oliver Springs Police Department has recently partnered with the Tennessee Highway Patrol in an effort to reduce traffic fatalities on Tennessee roadways.

THP started its “Drive to Zero” campaign on April 3. The goal of the campaign is to reduce traffic fatalities by 15 percent during 2014. The campaign addresses hazardous moving violations, distracted drivers, seat belt use, and driving under the influence, a press release said.

In the announcement for that campaign, THP Sgt. Dennis Smith said each state trooper and police officer in attendance were asked one question: How many traffic fatalities is acceptable on your watch, in your neighborhood, involving someone you know?

The answer was zero by everyone present, the press release said. [Read more…]

Police ID woman who died in Clinton crash

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Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge

A Clinton woman died in a three-car crash Friday evening on the Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge on Clinch Avenue near downtown Clinton.

The Clinton Police Department has identified the woman who died in a crash on Lewallen Bridge on Friday evening.

Angela Duncan Richardson, 40, of Clinton, died after she was thrown from a pickup truck driven by Kyle H. Anthony, 21, of Knoxville, the CPD said. Richardson was reportedly sitting behind the front seat of Anthony’s Chevy Silverado.

One other passenger in Anthony’s truck, Sean Richardson of Clinton, was taken to the hospital for treatment of possible injuries, and a fourth person in the truck was not injured despite being partially ejected from Anthony’s vehicle, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton. [Read more…]

Sheriff’s Department receives Governor’s Highway Safety Grant for fifth year

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Sheriff Paul White announced Tuesday that the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department has been awarded a traffic safety grant for the fifth year.

The grant award of $40,000 from the Governor’s Highway Safety Office will support the traffic safety program “Reducing Fatalities In Anderson County,” a press release said. The grant will increase efforts to reduce fatalities through enforcement of laws governing driving under the influence and impaired driving, as well as seatbelt enforcement. [Read more…]

Local agencies receive more than $350K in highway safety funds

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Tennessee officials last week announced $21.1 million in grants to Tennessee agencies to support highway traffic safety efforts, with more than $350,000 designated for local law enforcement agencies.

The grants include about $180,000 to the Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office for driving-under-the-influence abatement and prosecution, and roughly $40,000 to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department for reducing fatalities in the county. The Oak Ridge Police Department received about $25,000 for alcohol saturation and checkpoints. [Read more…]

With holiday approaching, Anderson DA reminds residents not to drink and drive

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

The Labor Day holiday is this weekend, and Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark is reminding people to not drive under the influence.

Citing statistics that indicate that nearly one out of every three traffic deaths in America occur in impaired-driving crashes, Clark in a press release said all of the county’s municipal police departments and Anderson County Sheriff’s Office are taking part in a high-visibility enforcement campaign aimed at reducing impaired driving fatalities and serious injury crashes. If you are driving under the influence, the minimum penalty in Tennessee includes 48 hours behind bars, a one-year suspension of your driver’s license and a $350 fine—plus the other severe financial consequences such as rising insurance rates, attorney fees and court costs, lost time at work, as well as potential job loss and the personal and professional embarrassment, Clark said. [Read more…]

Guest column: Sheriff reminds students not to drink and drive

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Proms and graduations are important traditions for young people and the community. The time to celebrate achievements, reflect on the past, and take the first steps into adulthood. Unfortunately, some teenagers believe the deadly mix of alcohol and driving is also a part of this tradition. Far too many are injured or killed after the prom or graduation.

Our young students headed to the prom and from graduations are reminded not to drink and drive. Deputies with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department will be out in force on prom nights and after graduations. Driving under the influence, illegal drugs, and underage drinking will get you a ride to the county jail.

The Sheriff’s Department also reminds teens that getting caught drinking while under the age of 21 can result in losing a driver’s license, getting suspended from school, ejected from sports teams, and even banned from graduation ceremonies. [Read more…]

Oliver Springs school administrator arrested for DUI, placed on leave

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Information from WYSH Radio

An Oliver Springs High School administrator was arrested last week outside the roller skating rink on East Tri-County Boulevard after the Oliver Springs Police Department was called and told that a parent had arrived to pick up their child and appeared to be intoxicated.

Donna Renee Moore, 46, of Harriman, was arrested late Friday night, and the responding officer noted that she was unsteady on her feet; had red, glassy eyes; and smelled of alcohol. He also reported finding two, partially empty airplane-sized vodka bottles in her purse. [Read more…]

TDOT employee resigns after crash, DUI arrest in Oak Ridge

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A Tennessee Department of Transportation employee who worked in Oak Ridge resigned Thursday after he was charged with driving under the influence following a police investigation of a crash at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Louisiana Avenue on Friday, Feb. 1, officials said.

Police said William Hays Halbert, 56, of Knoxville, had been driving a state-owned 2010 Ford F150 pickup truck, but he had slurred speech and bloodshot, watery eyes, according to an affidavit filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court. Halbert smelled like alcohol and appeared to be confused, and he had a hard time following directions, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Garrett L. Robbins wrote in the affidavit.

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