Oak Ridge Today

Updated: Power restored Saturday after Friday evening storm

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Utility Workers Dana Drive July 9 2016 1JPG

There were still scattered power outages in Oak Ridge late Saturday morning, July 9, 2016, and crews were working to make repairs. Above, utility crews replace a utility pole and repair lines on Dana Drive after a large tree fell during a severe storm on Friday evening. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:25 p.m.

All known power issues in Oak Ridge are repaired, the Oak Ridge Electric Department said Saturday evening.

Crews worked to restore power Saturday in what were reported to be scattered outages. If you are still without power Saturday night, please call the Oak Ridge Electric Department at (865) 425-1803.

City workers had reported scattered outages in Oak Ridge earlier Saturday after a severe storm roared through Oak Ridge Friday evening.

It wasn’t clear how many customers were affected by power outages. The Oak Ridge Police Department had reported a major power outage on Friday evening. [Read more…]

Woman arrested for role in alleged armed robbery that injured two

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Larissa Cate Little

Larissa Cate Little

A Knoxville woman has been charged with especially aggravated robbery for her role in an alleged armed robbery of cash and prescription medications on Jonathan Lane in May that sent two people to the hospital with serious injuries or broken bones that required medical treatment and hospital stays, authorities said.

Larissa Cate Little, 27, of Dude Lane in Knoxville, was arrested Thursday by the Oak Ridge Police Department. She remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton early Friday afternoon. Her bond on the especially aggravated robbery charge has been set at $100,000.

An arrest warrant said Little allegedly brought two male defendants who are not identified in the warrant to a Jonathan Lane home with the intent to commit an armed robbery at about 3:15 p.m. May 21. Little knew that the two Jonathan Lane victims, a male and female, would open the door for her because they knew her, said the warrant, filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

Little got the victims to open the door, then her two male co-defendants entered the home, striking the male victim in the face with what he believed to be a firearm, ORPD Detective William Weaver said. [Read more…]

Driver injured after SUV crashes down embankment on South Illinois

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South-Illinois-Avenue-Crash-July-3-2016

A driver was injured after an SUV crashed down an embankment alongside South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge late Sunday or early Monday, July 4, 2016. The embankment is alongside a big hill coming down into Oak Ridge between Centrifuge Way and Scarboro Road. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A driver was injured when a sport utility vehicle crashed down a steep embankment and into a wooded area alongside the northbound lanes of South Illinois Avenue around midnight Sunday, authorities said.

The northbound lanes of South Illinois Avenue were closed for several hours coming down the hill into Oak Ridge between Centrifuge Way and Scarboro Road/Lafayette Drive as the Oak Ridge Police Department investigated the crash.

The name, age, and condition of the driver weren’t immediately available. No other vehicles were reported to be involved. [Read more…]

Updated: Missing child located, safe

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Note: This story was updated at 1:48 p.m.

The child reported missing from West Outer Drive on Wednesday afternoon has been located, and he is safe, authorities said.

The three-year-old was reported missing at about 1 p.m. Wednesday. The Oak Ridge Police Department confirmed that he had been located at about 1:44 p.m.

To contact the ORPD, you may call them at 911 for emergencies and (865) 425-4399 for non-emergencies.

To sign up for text alerts from the ORPD, text your zip code to 888777. You can also see a sign-up form on the Nixle website at http://local.nixle.com/alert/5671353/.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Motorcyclist injured in truck-motorcycle crash

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Edgemoor-Road-Motorcycle-and-Truck-Crash-June-23-2016

The Oak Ridge Police Department, Oak Ridge Fire Department, and other authorities and emergency medical services respond to a crash between a motorcycle and a tractor-trailer on Edgemoor Road at Haw Ridge Park on Thursday, June 23, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 1:52 p.m.

A motorcyclist was injured in a crash between a tractor-trailer and a motorcycle on Edgemoor Road on Thursday morning, authorities said.

The crash between an 18-wheeler and a motorcycle was reported at about 8:28 a.m. Thursday at Haw Ridge Park.

The name and condition of the motorcyclist and the type of motorcycle weren’t available Thursday morning. The motorcyclist was taken by ambulance to a hospital.

Oak Ridge Police Department Chief Jim Akagi said the motorcyclist was driving east on Edgemoor Road, headed toward Clinton Highway, when the motorcyclist appears to have passed the truck on the right, apparently on the shoulder of the road, as the eastbound tractor-trailer turned right into the parking lot at Haw Ridge. The motorcycle appears to have hit the truck on its passenger side, Akagi said. [Read more…]

Robbery allegedly involved armed confrontation between two defendants, juvenile victim

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Xyrius Jaeren Dickerson

Xyrius Jaeren Dickerson

The alleged robbery reported in the Burger King parking lot on Thursday actually occurred at a home on Pennsylvania Avenue, and it allegedly involved an armed confrontation between a 21-year-old man, a juvenile co-defendant, and a juvenile victim, according to an arrest warrant filed Monday.

Xyrius Jaeren Dickerson, 21, of Osage Road in Oak Ridge, has been charged with aggravated robbery in the case. He was arrested Sunday afternoon.

The Oak Ridge Police Department Officer responded to the reported robbery at Burger King on Oak Ridge Turnpike at about 4:43 p.m. Thursday.

The juvenile victim said he had been invited to the home of the juvenile co-defendant to pick up his recovered cell phone, said the warrant, which was filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. He said he was picked up by Dickerson and the co-defendant at Burger King before being taken to the co-defendant’s house on Pennsylvania Avenue, ORPD Officer S. Perry Lewis said in the warrant. [Read more…]

ORPD investigating truancy cases with DA’s Office, Oak Ridge Schools

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The Oak Ridge Police Department, Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office, and Oak Ridge Schools have started investigating juveniles with unexcused absences from school during the 2015-2016 school year, officials said Friday.

“This process involves seeking petitions for truancy for those students who were absent for significant periods of time,” a City of Oak Ridge press release said.

The petitions will be submitted with the Anderson County Juvenile Court for remediation, the press release said. The 15 petitions were the start of an ongoing investigation, and officials anticipate that additional juvenile petitions will be filed.

“As part of this investigation, ORPD will also be investigating additional allegations of educational neglect, and when warranted, will seek petitions in (Anderson County General) Sessions Court against parents of students with a high number of unexcused absences from school during the 2015-2016 school year,” the release said. [Read more…]

No injuries reported after suspect allegedly rams vehicle, points gun at four people

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No injuries were reported after a suspect allegedly rammed someone else’s vehicle and pointed a handgun at four other people on West Bryn Mawr Circle early Friday, authorities said.

The disturbance was reported at about 12:22 a.m. Friday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $1,000, the ORPD said in a press release. [Read more…]

Armed robbery reported in Burger King parking lot Thursday

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An armed robbery was reported in the parking lot of Burger King on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Thursday, authorities said.

The alleged robbery was reported at about 4:43 p.m. Thursday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said. It allegedly involved two suspects who fled in a vehicle, the ORPD said.

Officers searched the area for the vehicle and suspects, a press release said. [Read more…]

Couple escape with their dog from house fire

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Wayside Road Fire June 15 2016 1

The Oak Ridge Fire Department puts out a house fire at 106 Wayside Road on Wednesday, June 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10 a.m. June 16.

An Oak Ridge man and woman and their dog escaped from a fire that heavily damaged a home on Wayside Road on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

The fire was reported at about 5:32 p.m. Wednesday.

The couple and their dog were reported to be out of the house and in a neighbor’s yard when firefighters arrived. No injuries were reported.

The fire appeared to have started at a propane grill on a back porch, although the cause hasn’t been determined, said Eric Rackard, Oak Ridge Fire Department battalion chief. [Read more…]

Two Knoxville men arrested after two alleged drive-by shootings

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Alexander Ryan Tirado

Alexander Ryan Tirado

Joshua Chase Payne

Joshua Chase Payne

Two Knoxville men were arrested and charged with reckless endangerment after drive-by shootings were reported on Pennsylvania Avenue and West Outer Drive on Tuesday, authorities said.

Arrested were Alexander Tirado, 25, of Oak Park Drive in Knoxville, and Joshua Chase Payne, 23, of Wallace Road in Knoxville.

In arrest warrants, Oak Ridge Police Department officers reported two calls of shots fired on West Outer Drive and Pennsylvania Avenue near Pine Lane on Tuesday night.

There were at least three adults and two juveniles in the 300 block of West Outer Drive, in the “immediate vicinity and the general direction of the gunfire” there, the arrest warrants said. Five spent 9mm casings were recovered from the street, authorities said. [Read more…]

Man dies after two-vehicle crash in west Oak Ridge on Thursday

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Dodge Ram Pickup Fatal Crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike June 2 2016

One man died after a two-vehicle crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Thursday evening, June 2, 2016. Authorities said a 2015 Toyota Prius was turning out of the Weigel’s parking lot onto the Oak Ridge Turnpike in west Oak Ridge and pulled into the path of this 2013 Dodge Ram pickup truck, which was hauling a livestock trailer. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 6 p.m.

An Oak Ridge man died after a two-vehicle crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Thursday, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday in front of Weigel’s at 2385 Oak Ridge Turnpike, on the west end of town.

A 2015 Toyota Prius was turning out of the Weigel’s parking lot onto the Oak Ridge Turnpike and pulled into the path of a 2013 Dodge Ram pickup truck hauling a livestock trailer, the Oak Ridge Police Police Department said.

The driver of the Toyota Prius, Lawrence Landau of Oak Ridge, was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he later died, the ORPD said. [Read more…]