Oak Ridge Today

Eight injured in motorcycle, car-semi crashes on I-75 in Anderson County

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ut-lifestar-helicopters-on-i-75-in-anderson-county-sept-20-2016-2

The UT Lifestar II helicopter and Lifestar IV helicopter are pictured at top right and bottom left on Interstate 75 in Anderson County on Saturday morning, Sept. 10, 2016, after one crash involving four motorcycles and another involving a semi and two other vehicles were reported. Authorities said eight people were injured in the two crashes. (Photo courtesy UT Lifestar)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:10 p.m. Sept. 11.

Six people were injured in one crash involving four motorcycles and two more were injured in a second crash involving two vehicles and a semi on Interstate 75 in Anderson County on Saturday morning, authorities said.

The two crashes occurred about 30 minutes apart in the northbound and southbound lanes of I-75 near mile marker 127, near Rocky Top (the former Lake City).

Two University of Tennessee Lifestar medical helicopters responded, and all four lanes were temporarily closed.

The first crash was reported at about 10:16 a.m, according to a Tennessee Highway Patrol preliminary crash report.

Four Harley Davidson motorcycles were traveling north in one lane of I-75 at mile marker 127 when the first motorcycle, a 2003 model driven by George Suver, 70, left the right shoulder and then swerved back into the lane, the THP said. [Read more…]

Roane crash during police pursuit kills Powell woman; driver, 15, injured

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Poplar Creek Road Crash Aug 24 2016 1

A 20-year-old Powell woman died in a single-vehicle crash during a police pursuit on Poplar Creek Road in Roane County on Wednesday afternoon, and a 15-year-old male driver was injured, authorities said. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

A 20-year-old Powell woman died in a single-vehicle crash during a police pursuit on Poplar Creek Road in Roane County on Wednesday afternoon, and a 15-year-old male driver was injured, authorities said.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol said the juvenile, a Harriman boy who was not identified because of his age, was fleeing from police in a 1998 Dodge pickup at about 3:06 p.m. when he lost control of the truck. It ran off the road and hit a rock wall or cavern opening, the THP said.

Holland Durbrow, 20, was killed in the impact, the THP said. She was not using a seat belt, according to a preliminary report.

WYSH Radio in Clinton reported that Harriman police officers tried to pull over a pickup that had been reported stolen Wednesday afternoon, but the young driver refused to stop. At one point during the pursuit, officers lost sight of the truck on Poplar Creek Road, WSYH said. Moments later, officers came upon the crash scene. [Read more…]

Vehicular homicide, other charges sent to grand jury in Clinton Highway crash

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Scott-Gray-Hearing-Aug-11-2016

Scott Gray, who has been charged with vehicular homicide, among other counts, is pictured above in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division I, in Clinton on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers testified Thursday that a driver charged with vehicular homicide smelled of alcohol and said he had been drinking and had taken two anti-anxiety pills before a two-vehicle crash on Clinton Highway in April that resulted in the death of a 23-year-old Heiskell woman.

There was a half-empty bottle of whiskey found between the driver’s seat and the rocker panel of the 1993 Eagle four-door sedan, according to testimony by a crash witness and THP Trooper Isaiah Lloyd, the lead trooper in the investigation. Lloyd testified that he saw a glass marijuana pipe with residue in the center console of the car, a marijuana joint inside a prescription bottle, and at least six beer cans on the passenger floorboard of the car, although it wasn’t clear if the cans were empty or full.

The THP said Scott Gray, 26, of Knoxville, was driving north on Clinton Highway in the Eagle sedan near Mehaffey Road on Thursday evening, April 28, when he turned into the path of a southbound 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicle driven by Kimberly Williamson, 32, of Knoxville. The SUV driven by Williamson hit the car driven by Gray.

The passenger side of the Eagle had significant damage, and passenger Jessica Miner Taylor, 23, of Heiskell, was trapped and critically injured. After she was extricated, she was flown by a Lifestar medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, authorities said. She was immediately taken into the operating room because her bladder was torn from the crash, Lloyd said in arrest warrants filed in May.

Gray was taken by ambulance to UT Medical Center the day of the crash. Williamson had minor injuries, and she was taken in a personal vehicle to Tennova North, where she was treated and released, authorities said earlier.

Miner died from her injuries about a week after the crash, on Friday, May 6, according to her obituary. [Read more…]

Motorcyclist, 21, flown to UT hospital after crash with Electric Department truck

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The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a crash between a motorcycle and a city electric truck at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue on Sunday morning, Aug. 14, 2016. The electric truck is in the background at right. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:30 p.m.

A 21-year-old motorcyclist was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville after crashing into an Oak Ridge Electric Department utility truck at the intersection of Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike on Sunday morning, authorities said.

The motorcyclist, identified as Brandon W. Wyrick of Clinton, was going north on a 1999 Yamaha V-Star on Illinois Avenue when he did not stop at a red light at Oak Ridge Turnpike, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said in a preliminary report.

The Electric Department’s 2011 Freightliner was going south on Oak Ridge Turnpike and was legally going through the intersection at Illinois Avenue when Wyrick failed to stop, the THP said. The motorcycle hit the right front side of the utility truck.

Wyrick was treated at the crash site and taken to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge by an Anderson County EMS ambulance. He was then flown to UT Medical Center by a Lifestar helicopter, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in a press release.

Wyrick’s condition was reported to be critical at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday, according to UT Medical Center. [Read more…]

ORPD, THP investigating truck-motorcycle crash

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The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a crash between a motorcycle and a city electric truck on Sunday morning, Aug. 14, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 9:40 a.m. Aug. 15.

The Oak Ridge Police Department and Tennessee Highway Patrol were investigating a crash between a motorcycle and a city electric truck on Sunday morning.

The crash was reported at about 7 a.m. Sunday at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue.

The driver of the motorcycle was taken to Methodist Medical Center, authorities said.

The intersection remained closed as of about 9 a.m. Sunday.

Note: Please see newer story here for more information. It includes ORPD and THP reports on the crash.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Harriman man killed in Roane County crash

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A Harriman man died in a single-vehicle crash on Highway 61 in Roane County on Friday, authorities said.

Martin J. Palenski, 37, was not wearing a seat belt, and he was ejected when the car he was driving rolled after hitting an embankment at about 12:36 p.m. Friday, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

The THP said Palenski was driving a 2002 Ford Taurus west on Highway 61. While going around a righthand curve, the Taurus went off the left side of the road, a crash report said. Palenski overcorrected and hit an embankment on the right side of the road, the THP said. The Taurus then rolled, and Palenski was ejected, the THP said. [Read more…]

Two injured, one picked up by medical helicopter after head-on crash on Mahoney Road

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Two-Car Crash on Mahoney Road July 21 2016 Slider

Two people were injured and one was picked up by a medical helicopter after a head-on two-vehicle crash on Mahoney Road in Oliver Springs on Thursday, July 21, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 12:30 a.m.

OLIVER SPRINGS—Two drivers were injured and one was picked up by a medical helicopter after a head-on two-vehicle crash on Mahoney Road in Oliver Springs on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday near New Mountain View Baptist Church. Charges are pending against one of the drivers, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The THP said a 1997 Cadillac STS driven by Blake Brakins, 33, of Oak Ridge, was traveling south on Mahoney Road when it crossed over the center line and crashed head-on into a 2016 Ford Fusion traveling north on Mahoney Road and driven by Isabel Cates, 80, of Oliver Springs.

Brakins and Cates were both injured, the THP said. Cates was wearing a seat belt, while Brakins was not, authorities said. [Read more…]

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…]

One dead after two-county chase ends in crash; wanted man charged with homicide

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Ralpheal Cameron Coffey

Ralpheal Cameron Coffey in 2014 (Source: Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

One man is dead following the crash that occurred Wednesday afternoon on Central Avenue Pike in north Knox County after a two-county police chase, and a man wanted in both Anderson and Knox counties has been charged with vehicular homicide, authorities said.

According to the initial investigation, 26-year-old Ralpheal Cameron Coffey was fleeing from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department in a 2007 maroon Chevy Impala when he almost struck an officer with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office in his cruiser around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday on Heiskell Road, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said. The officer turned the cruiser around to pursue Coffey, but found the Impala had crashed into a 2007 white Ford F150 pickup truck on Central Avenue Pike at Callahan Drive.

Coffey and his passenger, Tommie Troupe, 44, as well as the driver of the Ford, Kevin Bradley, 27, and his passenger, Eric Kennedy, 26, were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville with incapacitating injuries. Bradley was pronounced dead at the hospital. [Read more…]

Two-county car chase ends in crash that injures four in Knox

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Ralpheal Cameron Coffey

Ralpheal Cameron Coffey in 2014 (Source: Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)

A two-county car chase that started in Anderson County before being terminated by deputies Wednesday afternoon ended with a two-vehicle crash in Knox County that injured four people, authorities said.

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputies were looking for Ralpheal Cameron Coffey, 26, around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Claxton area for several outstanding warrants, Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. He said Coffey was spotted in a maroon Chevrolet Impala on Edgemoor Road.

“As deputies started to make a vehicle stop on Coffey, he began fleeing toward Clinton Highway on Edgemoor Road,” Lucas said. “Deputies began a pursuit that crossed Clinton Highway onto Raccoon Valley Road and into Knox County. Deputies lost sight of the vehicle as it went under the railroad trestle on Raccoon Valley Road in Heiskell.”

Witnesses pointed out that the vehicle turned southbound onto Heiskell Road toward Powell, Lucas said. But deputies were unable to locate the vehicle and terminated their pursuit. [Read more…]

Vehicular homicide charge added to DUI charge after passenger dies

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Scott Allen Gray

Scott Allen Gray

 

A Knoxville man who admitted to drinking for two days straight and taking two Klonopins has now been charged with vehicular homicide, in addition to driving under the influence, after his 23-year-old passenger, Jessica Miner Taylor, of Heiskell, died about one week after a two-vehicle crash on Clinton Highway in Anderson County in April, authorities said.

Scott Allen Gray, 26, was initially charged with vehicular assault and DUI (second offense) after the two-vehicle crash injured three people at the intersection of Clinton Highway and Mehaffey Road on Thursday, April 28.

The vehicular homicide charge was added after Jessica Miner Taylor, who had been trapped in the car, died this month.

The THP said Gray was driving north on Clinton Highway in a 1993 Eagle Vision sedan on April 28 when he turned into the path of a southbound 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicle driven by Kimberly Williamson, 32, of Knoxville.

The SUV driven by Williamson hit the car driven by Gray. [Read more…]

Driver charged in two-vehicle crash that injured three on Thursday

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Clinton-Highway-Crash-April-28-2016

Three people were injured in a two-vehicle crash on Clinton Highway at Mehaffey Road at about 5:27 p.m. Thursday, April 28, 2016. The vehicles included the Jeep Grand Cherokee pictured at left center and the Eagle Vision that is partially obscured behind an emergency vehicle at right. The driver of the Eagle has been charged by the THP. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLAXTON—A Knoxville man was charged with vehicular assault and driving under the influence after a two-vehicle crash injured three people on Clinton Highway on Thursday, authorities said.

Scott Gray, 26, of Knoxville, also faces eight more charges that allege additional violations: open container, simple possession of Schedule IV drugs, drug paraphernalia, due care, improper turn, failure to yield, financial responsibility, and a registration violation, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, which investigated the crash. The DUI offense is a second offense, according to a THP preliminary crash report.

The THP responded to the crash on Clinton Highway at Mehaffey Road at 5:27 p.m. Thursday. Mehaffey Road is a short drive past Edgemoor Road headed toward Knoxville on Clinton Highway. Headed toward Knoxville, it’s near the beginning of a hilly, curvy stretch of Clinton Highway that winds into Knox County from Anderson County.

Authorities said Gray was driving north on Clinton Highway in a 1993 Eagle Vision sedan when he turned into the path of a southbound 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicle driven by Kimberly Williamson, 32, of Knoxville. [Read more…]