Oak Ridge Today

Police ID driver, passenger in fatal pond crash

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England Road Pond

The Oliver Springs Police Department has identified the driver who died and the passenger who escaped after a Mazda MX3 coupe crashed into this pond on England Drive on Tuesday night.

Note: This story was last updated at 5:30 p.m.

The Oliver Springs Police Department has identified the woman who died and the passenger who escaped after a car crashed into a pond on England Drive on Tuesday night.

Driver Amy Hall, 23, of Oliver Springs, ran off the road into the private pond sometime before 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, when the OSPD was notified of the accident.

“Members of the Oliver Springs police and fire departments responded and learned that a vehicle was submerged in the pond and one person, Donna McMillian, age 54, was able to get out of the vehicle and make it out of the water—and reported that another person was still in the vehicle,” Oliver Springs Police Chief Kenneth Morgan said in a Wednesday press release. “Members of the Fire Department entered the water but were unable to locate the vehicle.”

Morgan said the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Dive Team was called for assistance. Sheriff Paul White, Oliver Springs Fireman Adam Daugherty, and Marlow Fireman T.J. Giles entered the water and were able to locate Hall and the red two-door Mazda MX3 coupe at about 10 p.m. and help remove them with the help of two tow trucks about an hour later. White said divers, who emerged from the water covered in dark silt, could only see a few inches in front of their goggles under water. [Read more…]

Driver dies, passenger escapes when car crashes into pond

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England Road Fatal Pond Crash

Rescuers call in a tow truck to pull a car out of a pond on England Road on Tuesday night. The driver of the car died in the crash, but the passenger escaped.

OLIVER SRINGS—A female driver died and a passenger escaped Tuesday night when a small car crashed into a private pond on England Road in Oliver Springs.

Oliver Springs Police Chief Kenneth Morgan said the driver and female passenger won’t be identified until relatives have been notified.

The crash occurred sometime before 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Property owner Marcia Pemberton said she came out of her house around then and heard screaming. At first, she thought it was family members playing at the dam at the pond. But then she realized these were different screams—screams for help, Pemberton said.

“Then I took off running,” she said.

The passenger was in a corner of the 18-foot-deep pond, hanging onto a tree and unable to get out because of the steep banks. There’s a car in the water, the woman told Pemberton. [Read more…]

Since Saturday, three crashes in Oliver Springs area required Lifestar response

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Oliver Springs Crash Tri County Boulevard

An Oneida woman driving the car above was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville after a collision with a truck on Tri County Boulevard in Oliver Springs on Monday afternoon. (Photo by Oliver Springs Police Department/Kenneth Morgan)

For the third time since about noon Saturday, a Lifestar medical helicopter on Monday afternoon picked up a patient injured in a car crash in Oliver Springs.

The 1 p.m. Monday crash involved an Old Dominion truck driven by Steven Mayfield and a car driven by Lyndsay Phillips of Oneida. The truck was turning from eastbound Tri County Boulevard onto Knoxville Highway, or State Highway 62, headed toward Morgan County, Oliver Springs Police Chief Kenneth Morgan said. He said the car was traveling west toward Harriman on the Boulevard.

Phillips was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center by Lifestar, Morgan said. [Read more…]

Anderson Sheriff taking part in Click It or Ticket, sobriety checkpoint

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Click It or Ticket Day and Night

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department will take part in the Click It or Ticket-National Seat Belt Enforcement Mobilization by conducting saturation patrols during this Memorial Day holiday period, a press release said.

A sobriety checkpoint will also be held the evening of Friday, May 23, on Tri-County Boulevard in Oliver Springs. This will be a multi-agency effort sponsored by the Oliver Springs Police Department and the Governor’s Highway Safety Office.

The Click It or Ticket-National Seat Belt Enforcement Mobilization runs from May 19 through June 1, the press release said. [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…]

Dispose of unused medicine safely at four locations Saturday

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ASAP Logo

Anderson County residents can get rid of their unused medicine on Saturday as the county participates in National Drug Take-Back Day sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The Oak Ridge Police Department, Clinton Police Department, Norris Police Department, Lake City Police Department, and Oliver Springs Police Department, along with ASAP, will host the event as part of a continued effort to reduce drug abuse and practice stewardship toward our environment. Medication may be dropped off with officers between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of the Oak Ridge Police Department at 200 S. Tulane Ave. or dropped in the bin at the locations listed below. All packaging materials will be recycled.

  • Clinton Police Department—125 W. Broad St., Clinton
  • Lake City Police Department—104 Lawson St., Lake City
  • Norris Police Department—9 West Circle Road, Norris
  • Oliver Springs Police Department—701 Main St., Oliver Springs [Read more…]

Anderson sheriff joins state, local police in ‘Drive to Zero Fatalities’

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DUI Logo

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department will join the Tennessee Highway Patrol and local police agencies in cooperation with the Governor’s Highway Safety Office in a nationwide campaign to reduce traffic fatalities by 15 percent in 2014, a press release said. The Drive To Zero Fatalities was initiated by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is being promoted by the Tennessee Sheriff’s Association and the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police.

The Drive to Zero Fatalities campaign is a data-driven effort that will focus on several traffic safety goals, the press release said. Sheriff’s deputies, state troopers, and local police officers will work together to reduce fatalities in Anderson County and to step up enforcement efforts for drunk and impaired drivers, distracted drivers, speeding, and seat belt use. Saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints will be a part of this effort. [Read more…]

Six clerks cited for selling beer to minor

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Six clerks in Anderson County were cited to court after businesses in Lake City and Oliver Springs sold beer to a minor during a compliance check in February, authorities said.

The sting was conducted on Feb. 20 and 21 by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, with help from the Lake City Police Department, Oliver Springs Police Department, and Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson County, or ASAP.

Investigators with the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit visited 24 businesses to try to buy beer. Six sold beer to the underage person, the department said in a press release. Two of the six businesses did not check identification showing the person to be under 21, and four checked but sold the beer anyway. One on-premise business served the underage person, but the server realized the age before the sale was completed. [Read more…]

Sheriff White seeks re-election

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Paul White

Paul White

Sheriff Paul White is seeking re-election as Anderson County sheriff. White was first elected in 2006 and re-elected in 2010.

White is a veteran law officer with 38 years of experience, a press release said. His first five years were with the Oliver Springs Police Department, where he served as a police officer and patrol sergeant. The remaining 33 years have been with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, where he advanced through the ranks from patrol deputy to commanding the Patrol Division and Court Services.

During his career, White had the opportunity to hold almost every position within the Sheriff’s Department and at one time was appointed “acting sheriff,” the release said.

“Having served under the last five administrations, Paul White had the unique opportunity to observe and utilize many ideas and practices as to how the Sheriff’s Department could best serve the needs of Anderson County,” the release said. [Read more…]

Jeep pulling ATV knocks down railroad signal in Oliver Springs

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Tri-County Boulevard and ATV Railroad Crossing Crash

A Jeep pulling an ATV on Tri-County Boulevard on Monday evening went off the road and knocked down a railroad signal. (Photos by Tom Scott)

Information from photographer Tom Scott

A Jeep pulling a trailer hauling an ATV eastbound on Tri-County Boulevard on Monday went off the road near Edmonds Drive and knocked down a railroad crossing signal.

The ATV flipped and landed next to the vehicle after the crash, which occurred at about 5:50 p.m. Monday.

No injuries were reported. The Oliver Springs police and fire departments responded as did the Anderson County Emergency Medical Services. [Read more…]

Man facing charges in high-speed chase

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Powell man has been arrested on charges stemming from a high-speed nighttime pursuit that spanned two counties earlier this month.

Larry Eugene Ward Jr., 33, is facing a slew of charges including reckless endangerment, reckless driving, evading arrest, and a host of traffic violations. An Oliver Springs Police Department officer tried to pull Ward over at night on Nov. 2 for a routine violation, but Ward allegedly sped off in his Chevy Cruze, turned off the vehicle’s headlights, and proceeded to lead officers on a pursuit that reached speeds of more than 100 miles an hour, passing cars on double yellow lines, and taking hills in the wrong lane. [Read more…]

Seven arrested in prostitution sting in Oliver Springs

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Six men and one woman were arrested during a prostitution sting in Oliver Springs last week, authorities said.

The Aug. 29 joint operation was within a half-mile of Norwood Elementary and Middle School, and the bust involved the Oliver Springs Police Department and the Seventh District Crime Task Force, OSPD Chief Kenneth Morgan said in a Thursday evening press release.

“We conducted this operation with the hope of stopping a growing issue before it became a major problem,” Morgan said. [Read more…]