Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge police conduct water rescue

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The Oak Ridge Police Department had a water rescue at a partially submerged vehicle in west Oak Ridge on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019, the Oak Ridge Fire Department said. (Photo courtesy ORFD)

The Oak Ridge Police Department had a water rescue at a partially submerged vehicle in west Oak Ridge on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019, the Oak Ridge Fire Department said. (Photo courtesy ORFD)

 

The Oak Ridge Police Department had a water rescue at a partially submerged vehicle in west Oak Ridge on Saturday, the Oak Ridge Fire Department said.

The vehicle was on Oak Ridge Turnpike (Highway 95) in west Oak Ridge, one of several roads in the area that has had at least a portion of it closed.

“We are asking everyone to stay home and off the roads today while we respond to flooding in Oak Ridge,” the Fire Department said. [Read more…]

Updated: Rain causing widespread flooding, road closures

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The Oak Ridge Police Department said road closures due to flooding on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019, include eastbound Highway 95 east of the Highway 95/58 split, pictured above; Gum Hollow Road; and Jefferson Avenue at Jefferson Circle and Royce Circle. (Photo courtesy ORPD)

The Oak Ridge Police Department said road closures due to flooding on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019, include eastbound Highway 95 east of the Highway 95/58 split, pictured above; Gum Hollow Road; and Jefferson Avenue at Jefferson Circle and Royce Circle. (Photo courtesy ORPD)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 2:45 p.m.

Days of continuous, heavy rain are causing widespread flooding and road closures in the area, including in Oak Ridge.

Late Saturday morning, the Oak Ridge Police Department said road closures include Gum Hollow Road, eastbound Highway 95 east of the Highway 95/58 split, and Jefferson Avenue at Jefferson Circle and Royce Circle.

“There are a number of flooded roads in Oak Ridge right now,” the ORPD said. “Please avoid areas with standing water and obey any road or lane closures for your own safety.”

Saturday afternoon, the Oak Ridge Fire Department said the ORPD conducted a water rescue at a partially submerged vehicle on Oak Ridge Turnpike (Highway 95) in west Oak Ridge.

The Police Department cited the advice that law enforcement officers and weather forecasters often give during flooding conditions: “Turn around, don’t drown.” [Read more…]

Driver airlifted to hospital after crashing through guardrail, into rock embankment

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Chevrolet Cavalier Crash at Highway 95

The driver of this Chevrolet Cavalier was flown by a medical helicopter to a hospital after apparently crashing through a guardrail and into a rock embankment, right, below a DOE haul road on Highway 95 in west Oak Ridge on Wednesday afternoon.

 

A car driver was flown by medical helicopter to a hospital after crashing through a guardrail and into a rock embankment below a U.S. Department of Energy haul road that crosses over Highway 95 in west Oak Ridge on Wednesday afternoon.

The name and condition of the driver weren’t immediately available after the one-vehicle, one-person crash. The collision occurred in a curvy section of Highway 95 near the western entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex on Bear Creek Road.

The haul road is used to move debris from the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, to the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility west of Y-12. [Read more…]

No injuries reported, but SR 95 shut down when coal truck trailer overturns

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Highway 95 Coal Truck Trailer

A trailer hauling coal came loose from a southbound truck and overturned in a ditch next to Highway 95 between Bethel Valley Road and Melton Hill Dam on Sunday night.

No injuries were reported, but part of Highway 95 was temporarily shut down Sunday night after a coal trailer separated from a southbound truck and overturned in a ditch between Bethel Valley Road and Melton Hill Dam.

The accident was reported at about 6:15 p.m. Sunday. The highway remained shut down more than two hours later. [Read more…]

ORPD identifies motorcyclist who died in fiery Highway 95 crash

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The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified the motorcyclist who died in a fiery three-vehicle crash on Highway 95 on Sunday.

Jeffrey Floyd, 23, of Clinton, was killed when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a vehicle driven by Patricia Scofield, 57, of Louisville at about 5 p.m. Sunday, the ORPD said in a press release. Both vehicles were almost completely engulfed in flames when officers arrived. [Read more…]

One killed in crash involving car, two motorcycles on Highway 95

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One person was killed in a collision involving a car and two motorcycles on Highway 95 early Sunday evening, authorities said.

The fatal crash occurred about one-half mile south of Bethel Valley Road, west of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The Oak Ridge Police Department said the names of the people involved, and the descriptions of their vehicles, will not be released until notifications have been made. The ORPD is currently investigating the incident, a statement said.

Sunday alarm at waste processing center triggered by smoke from heater

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Transuranic Waste Processing Center

A Sunday night alarm at the TRU Waste Processing Center in west Oak Ridge was triggered by smoke from a heater when the power went out during a thunderstorm and a ventilation system shut off. (Photo courtesy DOE Oak Ridge Office)

It was initially believed to be triggered by a small fire, but federal officials now say the Sunday night alarm at a waste processing center in west Oak Ridge was set off by smoke.

A ventilation system shut off when the power went out during a thunderstorm between 5 and 6 p.m. Sunday, and that caused a heater at the Transuranic Waste Processing Center to overheat, said Laura Wilkerson, federal project director in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office. [Read more…]

Greenback man dies after SUV rolls, hits tree on Highway 95

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A Greenback man died after his compact utility vehicle went off the roadway and into the ditch on Highway 95 near Bethel Valley Road Tuesday, overturned, and hit a tree, authorities said.

Daniel B. Summers, 46, had been driving northbound on Highway 95 at about 7:30 p.m. when his 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer left the road as he was going around a curve, according to an Oak Ridge Police Department report.

The SUV traveled about 80 feet along the ditch before the right wheels dug in, causing the vehicle to vault and overturn, the report said. The driver’s side door smashed into the tree.

Coal truck overturns on Highway 95

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Overturned Coal Truck

Workers from Tennessee Towing of Powell pull a coal truck out of a ditch on Highway 95 near Bethel Valley Road on Friday afternoon.

A coal truck overturned on Highway 95 near Bethel Valley Road about noon Friday.

The truck ended up on its side and spilled coal in a ditch west of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The condition of the driver wasn’t immediately available. The Oak Ridge Police Department declined comment, saying an accident report would be available early next week.

[Read more…]