Oak Ridge Today

Fatal crash reported on East Wolf Valley Road on Wednesday

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There was a fatal two-car crash on East Wolf Valley Road in Anderson County on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

The driver of one car died, and the other driver had minor injuries, Anderson County Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

The road was closed for about three hours while the Tennessee Highway Patrol investigated the crash.

Lucas said the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department assisted the Tennessee Highway Patrol at the crash site. Oak Ridge Today has requested additional information from the THP and will update this story as new information becomes available.

Sheriff candidate suspended by THP in May says he’s a political target

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Anthony Lay

Anthony Lay

Note: This story was last updated at 8:15 p.m. July 23.

A candidate for Anderson County sheriff suspended by the Tennessee Highway Patrol in May said he has been the target of political attacks.

THP Trooper Anthony Lay was suspended for five days in May for unsatisfactory job performance, a spokesperson said Monday. The suspension was based on several factors, including insubordination, neglect of duty, failure to perform the duties of his job, non-compliance with an internal database system, and having an unsecured patrol unit in a populated area, said Dalya Qualls, public information officer for the Tennessee Department of Safety.

The administrative review that led to Lay’s suspension was received in April 2014.

Lay said he had been off work for five months because of back surgery, and Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark reported that Lay had not turned in some requested case file documents. Lay said he did not receive the letter requesting the documents, and the request letters were apparently sent to a Knoxville office.

“I have received no documentation requests on it whatsoever,” Lay said. [Read more…]

Atlanta burglary suspect jailed after high-speed police chase, CPD says

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Victor Allen Webb

Victor Allen Webb

A 26-year-old Georgia man remained in jail on Saturday after a high-speed police chase on Friday that started in Clinton and ended between Oak Ridge and Oliver Springs, authorities said.

The suspect, Victor Allen Webb of Atlanta, is facing charges in connection with at least two local home burglaries, the Clinton Police Department said in a press release.

On Friday morning, a CPD officer on special neighborhood patrol spotted the suspect vehicle near the scene of burglaries this week, the release said.

“I had asked Patrolman Brian Galloway to keep an eye on homes in the western end of Clinton between Charles G. Seivers Boulevard and the river, due to recent burglaries,” Clinton Police Chief Rick Scarbrough said. “When officer Galloway attempted to stop the white Kia, instead of stopping, the suspect continued on.”

Reports indicate that the pursuit continued through parts of Oak Ridge, finally ending on Oliver Springs Highway (Highway 61), the CPD said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge police officer injured in two-car crash recovering at home

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Oak Ridge Police Officer Crash Response

Oak Ridge police officers, firefighters, and EMS workers remove an injured police officer from a police car after a two-vehicle collision on Sunday afternoon at the intersection of South Illinois and Rutgers avenues.

Information from WYSH Radio

Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Cassen Jackson-Garrison, who was injured in a two-vehicle collision on Sunday afternoon, is recovering at home.

He suffered a severe concussion in the Sunday afternoon accident and was released from the University of Tennessee Medical Center on Tuesday.

Jackson-Garrison turned on his emergency lights while responding to an emergency call and was trying to cross the intersection of Illinois and Rutgers avenues at around 2:15 p.m. Sunday when his patrol car was hit on the driver’s side by a car headed east on Illinois. Neither occupant of the other car—64-year-old Carolyn Cooper and 30-year-old Lindsay Cooper, both of Knoxville—were hurt in the accident, which is being investigated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol. [Read more…]

Police officer, two others taken to hospital after Sunday afternoon crash

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South Illinois Avenue Police Car Crash

An Oak Ridge police officer driving a police car and two occupants of a second car were taken to the hospital after a Sunday afternoon crash at South Illinois and Rutgers avenues.

 

An Oak Ridge police officer driving a police car and two occupants of a second car were taken to the hospital after a Sunday afternoon crash at South Illinois and Rutgers avenues.

The two-car crash occurred at about 2:12 p.m. Sunday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in a statement.

The officer, the only occupant of the police vehicle, was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, ORPD Capt. Charles R. Smith said in the statement. [Read more…]

Two killed, two injured in car-train accident in Harriman

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Information from WYSH Radio

Two people were killed and two others seriously injured after a train crashed into a car Friday evening in Harriman.

Three of the four people in the car were basketball players at Roane State Community College, including two siblings, according to school officials. The Tennessee Highway Patrol report states that their vehicle was heading west on Tanglewood Drive when it attempted to cross at a railroad crossing and was hit by a train at around 8:45 p.m. Friday.

According to the report, 20-year-old Darius J. Gallaher of Harriman was driving the car and the passengers have been identified as 22-year-old Roderick Drummond from Greenville, S.C., 18-year-old Jadah Gallaher of Harriman, and 20-year-old Hunter Crass from Harriman. [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…]

Harriman man dies in head-on crash in Oliver Springs on Saturday

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Oliver Springs Fatal Crash

A Harriman man died in a head-on two-car crash on State Highway 61 in Oliver Springs on Saturday night. (Photo by Tom Scott)

A Harriman man died in a head-on two-car crash on State Highway 61 on Saturday night, authorities said.

John E. Manis Jr., 57, was driving a 2000 Subaru Outback station wagon westbound on Highway 61 near Cemetery Road in Roane County, just outside Oliver Springs, when an eastbound Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck driven by a teenager crossed the center line and hit his vehicle head-on, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said in a preliminary crash report. The collision resulted in fatal injuries to Manis.

The crash occurred at about 9:57 p.m. Saturday. The 17-year-old driver of the pickup truck was injured, but she was not identified because she is a juvenile. Charges are pending, according to the THP report. The accident was investigated by Trooper Matthew Armes.

The THP said the teenager was not wearing a seat belt, and that would have made a difference. Manis was wearing a seat belt, the report said.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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…]

Andersonville man dies in head-on collision with tractor-trailer

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Edgemoor Road Fatal Crash Truck Cleanup

Workers clean up and the Tennessee Highway Patrol investigates after a fatal two-vehicle crash between a pickup truck and tractor-trailer rig, pictured above on Edgemoor Road in Claxton on Wednesday morning.

CLAXTON—A 39-year-old Andersonville man died on Wednesday morning when the westbound pickup truck he was driving collided head-on with an eastbound tractor-trailer rig on Edgemoor Road in Claxton.

Michael T. Utley was headed west in a 2001 Dodge Dakota pickup at about 6:11 a.m. Wednesday when he crossed the center line into the eastbound lane and hit a 2000 Freightliner semi pulling a trailer loaded with heavy steel coils, according to preliminary information from the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The driver of the semi, Edmund E. Wood, 57, of Madisonville, was not injured, the THP said. [Read more…]

Fatal crash on Edgemoor Road on Wednesday morning; motorists asked to avoid area

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Oak Ridge Today

Note: This story was updated at 11:15 a.m.

There was a fatal traffic crash involving a semi truck on Edgemoor Road at about 6 a.m. Wednesday, authorities said.

The crash closed a portion of Edgemoor Road between South Dogwood Road and Old Edgemoor Road near Clinton Highway. Traffic was rerouted in both directions down Old Edgemoor Road, said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy.

He said motorists are being asked to avoid the area.

The crash is being investigated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Lucas said THP and Sheriff’s Department units remained on the scene throughout the morning, and it wasn’t clear how much longer they would be there. [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…]