Lafayette Drive Archives - Oak Ridge Today

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

Posted at 10:22 am March 22, 2018
By John Huotari 4 Comments

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…]

Updated: South Illinois re-opens after crews clean up diesel from truck crash

Posted at 12:38 pm May 26, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

South Illinois Avenue remained closed early Friday afternoon, May 26, 2017, after about 100 gallons of diesel fuel spilled onto the road following a crash involving a dump truck and two vehicles at Lafayette Drive/Scarboro Road in south Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 2:40 p.m.

South Illinois Avenue re-opened Friday afternoon after being closed for about six hours to clean up about 100 gallons of diesel fuel that spilled onto the road following a crash involving a dump truck and two vehicles at Lafayette Drive/Scarboro Road in south Oak Ridge.

The fuel was spread out over about 100 yards, or roughly the length of a football field.

The Oak Ridge Public Works Department dumped sand to contain the fuel, which was spread across the five-lane roadway, and city workers and equipment, including from the Oak Ridge Fire Department, helped sweep it up with help from several vehicles, including a sweeper.

An environmental cleanup company was responding to help with the cleanup and dispose of the waste, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 7:55 a.m. Friday. The Oak Ridge Police Department, which investigated the crash, announced that the road had re-opened at 1:47 p.m. [Read more…]

Road closure on Lafayette on Saturday for traffic signal repairs

Posted at 9:23 pm March 29, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The City of Oak Ridge will temporarily close Lafayette Drive to northbound traffic at Emory Valley Road from approximately 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 1. Traffic will be detoured onto Emory Valley Road.

The closure is necessary to begin repairs on the traffic signal at that intersection, a press release said. The metal upright and mast arm that supports signal heads for northbound Lafayette Drive traffic was damaged during a car crash on January 13.

The repair will require the removal, inspection, and replacement of the metal upright and mast arm, the press release said. The complete repair will take between six and 18 weeks, depending on the degree of damage to the structural foundation of the pole. [Read more…]

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

Posted at 2:29 pm January 15, 2017
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Fatal-Crash-Memorial-Lafayette-Drive-Emory-Valley-Road-Jan-15-2017-3-Web

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

Posted at 7:12 pm January 13, 2017
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Fatal-Crash-Emory-Valley-Road-Lafayette-Drive-Intersection-Jan-13-2017-Slider

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…]

Police, fire respond to serious crash at Emory Valley Road, Lafayette

Posted at 6:08 pm January 13, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive Crash Jan 13 2017

The intersection of Lafayette Drive and Emory Valley Road was closed Friday evening, Jan. 13, 2017. after a serious crash that required multiple ambulances. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story has been updated. Please see newer story here.

The intersection of Emory Valley Road and Lafayette Drive is closed as authorities investigate a serious crash Friday evening.

There were, at one point, four ambulances at the crash site, although it’s not clear if they were all used. The Oak Ridge Fire Department and Oak Ridge Police Department both responded.

The crash was reported at about 5:15 p.m. Friday. [Read more…]

Driver allegedly runs red light, causes five-vehicle crash that injures one

Posted at 9:10 pm April 30, 2016
By John Huotari 18 Comments

Three-Vehicles-at-Oak-Ridge-Turnpike-Crash-April-30-2016

A driver who allegedly ran a red light at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue caused a five-vehicle crash that injured one person on Saturday afternoon, April 30, 2016, authorities said. Three of the crashed vehicles are pictured above. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 1:15 p.m. May 2.

A driver who allegedly ran a red light caused a five-vehicle chain-reaction crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike that injured one person on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 2:11 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue/Lafayette Drive.

A westbound pickup truck allegedly ran a red light and caused the chain-reaction crash, authorities said.

The one person injured had minor injuries, according to emergency personnel. Also, one of the drivers who was involved said he thought his shoulder might be injured. [Read more…]

Police respond to Y-12 Credit Union, which closes, but not clear why

Posted at 1:18 pm April 28, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Police Department at Y-12 Federal Credit Union

Oak Ridge Police Department officers were at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning. The credit union was cordoned off and then closed, but it’s not clear why.

Note: This story was last updated at 1:42 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Tuesday morning, and the bank was cordoned off and then closed but it’s not clear why.

The ORPD has referred questions to the FBI office in Knoxville and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.

The call to the ORPD came in at about 9:15 a.m. Tuesday. Officers blocked the entrance to the credit union, and at one point, they visually checked cars in a parking lot across Midland Road from the bank.

ORPD detectives were at the scene and remained there for at least a few hours afterward. The Credit Union is near the intersection of Lafayette Drive and South Illinois Avenue. [Read more…]

Driver escapes car fire on Lafayette Drive

Posted at 11:18 pm February 22, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The driver escaped, and firefighters quickly put out this fire in the front of a Subaru station wagon on Lafayette Drive on Sunday night.

Clinton resident Mark Bunch escaped a car fire on Lafayette Drive in Oak Ridge on Sunday night.

Bunch said he had just left a shop on Midway Lane about a quarter-mile away when other drivers started flashing their lights at him. Then, he noticed a glow by his left front tire.

Bunch pulled over between Hendrix Drive and Emory Valley Road just before 8 p.m. Sunday. He was able to exit the car on the driver’s side, although he was a little worried about the flames shooting up from the front of the 2007 Subaru station wagon. [Read more…]

Resurfacing work to start on Emory Valley Road on Monday

Posted at 12:22 pm November 1, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Resurfacing work on Emory Valley Road is expected to start on Monday, November 3, officials said.

The work will be done by Rogers Group Inc., working under contract for the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

The portion of Emory Valley Road to be resurfaced will begin west of Davidson Lane and proceeds west about 1.3 miles to Lafayette Drive, a city press release said. [Read more…]

TDOT presents $237,500 signal timing grant to Oak Ridge

Posted at 3:01 pm September 17, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

TDOT Commissioner John Schroer presents a signal optimization grant check to Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

Grant for signal optimization

The City of Oak Ridge has been awarded a Tennessee Department of Transportation grant for $237,500 for a signal timing optimization project, and TDOT Commissioner John Schroer recently presented the award to Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller in Nashville.

The signal timing optimization grant is funded by the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, or CMAQ, which supports transportation projects that reduce air emissions from on-road sources and non-road sources, as well as projects that reduce traffic congestion, a press release said.

“The city is pleased to receive this grant which will significantly enhance air quality and reduce congested roadways,” Oak Ridge City Engineer Steve Byrd said in the press release.

The signal timing optimization project will target 26 traffic signals on Illinois Avenue, Oak Ridge Turnpike, and Lafayette Drive. The program will synchronize these lights in order to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and vehicle idling, and decrease commuter travel time. [Read more…]

Teen struck by vehicle, treated for minor head injuries

Posted at 11:18 am September 9, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

A 14-year-old was hit by a vehicle at the intersection of Lafayette Drive and Laboratory Road on Tuesday morning, authorities said.

The crash occurred at about 7:47 a.m. Tuesday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

The boy was crossing Lafayette Drive on foot when he was struck by a northbound vehicle, the ORPD said in a statement. The teen was transported to Methodist Medical Center for treatment of minor head injuries.

The driver of the vehicle was cited for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

More information will be added as it becomes available.