Oak Ridge Today

Report: Discarded cigarette starts fire in truck’s cargo area on I-75

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A discarded cigarette that was still lit started a fire in the cargo area of a commercial truck on Interstate 75 on Friday night, authorities said.

The cigarette was discarded by an unknown motorist who threw it out of an unknown vehicle, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Steve Owens said in a report. It landed in the cargo area of a 2013 Ford F3D commercial truck owned by Classic Installs of Knoxville and driven by employee Ryan A. Johnson, the report said.

Johnson was driving south on I-75 near mile marker 121, just south of the Clinton exit, when he saw flames coming from the cargo area of his truck. He quickly pulled over to investigate and called for police and fire help at about 10 p.m. Friday. [Read more…]

Gas sells for less than $2 per gallon in Clinton, Anderson County

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Git 'N Go Gas Station in Clinton

Gas was selling for $1.98 per gallon at several stations near Interstate 75 on State Route 61 in Clinton on Thursday, including at this Git ‘N Go Market, right, and at a BP station, left, across the street.

 

Gas was selling for less than $2 per gallon at several gas stations in Clinton and Anderson County on Thursday.

At least three gas stations near Interstate 75 and State Route 61 in Clinton were selling regular unleaded gasoline for $1.98 per gallon. Several other gas stations in Anderson County along SR 61, which turns into Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge, were also selling fuel for $1.98. [Read more…]

Traffic backed up for miles on I-75 after shutdown for fiery crash

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Lifestar on I-75 Vasper Bridge

This picture by Charlotte Underwood is looking straight at the Vasper Bridge on I-75, near the 132 mile marker. The crash site is a bit north of the bridge on the southbound side of I-75, which is a couple of miles south of Caryville’s exit 134. (Photo and information courtesy Charlotte Underwood/1450 WLAF Radio and WLAF-TV 12)

 

A fiery fatal crash that shut down Interstate 75 in Campbell County on Wednesday afternoon has led to miles of backups heading north out of Knoxville and south from Kentucky.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation reports that traffic coming out of Knoxville on northbound Interstate 75 is backed up more than 7.5 miles from exit 129 at Lake City in Anderson County. Information on detours is available by calling 5-1-1.

Meanwhile, southbound traffic on I-75 coming out of Kentucky is backed up more than five miles from exit 134 at Caryville in Campbell County, TDOT said.

TDOT estimated the highway could be clear by 9 p.m. See TDOT’s Twitter feed here. You can also visit TDOT’s Smartmap for more information. [Read more…]

U.S. judge denies request to stop Lake City’s name change to Rocky Top

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Tim Isbel at Hearing on Lake City Name Change to Rocky Top

Tim Isbel, president of the Rocky Top Marketing and Manufacturing Co., at a federal court hearing in May on Lake City’s proposed name change to Rocky Top.

A federal judge on Wednesday denied for now a request to stop Lake City from changing its name to Rocky Top.

The preliminary injunction had been requested by House of Bryant Publications LLC, the Gatlinburg publisher of “Rocky Top,” a well-known bluegrass song closely identified with the University of Tennessee and its Volunteers athletics program.

The Lake City Council could reconsider the name change as early as June. The council endorsed the name change in November, and it was approved by the Tennessee General Assembly this year in a bill that has already been signed by Gov. Bill Haslam. Anderson County Commissioner Tim Isbel has said Lake City could become Rocky Top on July 3 under the new state law.

Isbel is president of Rocky Top Tennessee Marketing and Manufacturing Co. That company has proposed a development that could be worth up to $450 million over six years and include an indoor and outdoor water park, coal miners theater, children’s museum, train rides, restaurant, and a candy company on some 300 acres near two exits off Interstate 75. Officials have said it could bring 200 new jobs to Lake City and generate another $6 million in sales tax per year. But the project hinges on the name change. [Read more…]

Fairly quiet during last week’s snow, but 911 calls spike in Anderson County

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911 calls to the communications center at the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department increased significantly during last week’s snow.

The Sheriff’s Department said the communications center received 429 telephone calls from 7 p.m. Wednesday to 7 p.m. Friday, and 77 of those were 911 calls. That compares to 390 calls, with 51 of those on 911 lines, during the same time period a week earlier. [Read more…]

CPD: One dead in Friday morning crash

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Information from WYSH Radio

One person died in a two-car crash on Friday morning in Clinton.

The collision happened at about 7 a.m. near the intersection of Highway 61 and the on-ramp to Interstate 75 North. Christopher Strunk, 32, of Oneida died as a result of his injuries.

Initial information indicated that the vehicle, in which Strunk was a passenger, was “T-boned” by another car on North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard at the northbound entrance to I-75. [Read more…]

Lake City woman dies in Anderson County crash

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A Lake City woman died after she was ejected from her car when it went into the median on Interstate 75 in Anderson County and rolled just before midnight Wednesday, authorities said.

Christina D. Nelson, 23, was in the left lane of southbound I-75 in Clinton at about 11:51 p.m. Wednesday when her 2000 Nissan Altima sedan left the roadway, traveled through the median, and rolled about three times, Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Anthony Lay said in a report. [Read more…]