Tennessee Injury Lawyer Blog

Twenty-one year-old Jeffrey Brian-Edward Wills of Mosheim, Tennessee is facing several charges after authorities say he intentionally ran the SUV of nineteen year-old Jackie Ricker of Rheatown off the road, causing Ms. Ricker to be killed in the wreck. Mr. Wills was reportedly driving at a high rate of speed when he intentionally hit the Ford Explorer driven by Ms. Ricker, causing her car to drive into an embankment. Ms. Ricker was killed in the crash and two of her passengers, 31-year-old Sammy Shanks of Greeneville and 29-year-old Nancy Wills of Rheatown were injured and taken to Johnson City Medical Center. The criminal ramifications of this situation are discussed here.

Continue reading " Greene County Man Allegedly Wrecks Other Driver Intentionally " »

Twenty-two year-old Rochelle Kay Lee of Plainfield, Indiana was killed yesterday when her vehicle flipped over the guardrail near mile marker 144 at the Stinking Creek exit and was struck by a tractor-trailer. The driver of the tractor-trailer, Paul Jenkins of Madisonville, Tennessee was not injured in the crash. No drugs or alcohol seem to have been a factor in the crash, which was reportedly caused by the fact that Lee lost control of her vehicle due to heavy rainfall. Both drivers were also reportedly wearing their seatbelts.

Continue reading " Indiana Woman Killed in Wreck on I-75 " »

Forty-seven year-old Paul Rodgers of Knoxville died a few weeks ago when the van he was driving through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park reportedly drifted off of the right edge of the road, struck a tree, and then slid several feet down an embankment. According to reports, Rodgers was found dead at the scene, although he was properly wearing his seat belt and the van’s airbag deployed. There is no evidence that alcohol or drugs were involved, but the investigation into the crash is ongoing.

Continue reading " Knoxville Man Dies in Crash in National Park " »

Forty-Six year-old Louis Michael Haney of Clinton, Tennessee was arrested Sunday afternoon on suspicion of DUI after law enforcement officials spotted him driving his John Deere riding lawnmower along the shoulder of the Tri-County Boulevard in Anderson County heading in the opposite direction of traffic. Haney subsequently failed a sobriety test and was taken into custody and charged with felony DUI, driving on a revoked license, and violation of the implied consent law.

Continue reading " Clinton Man Arrested for Fifth DUI " »

Early this morning, a gas tanker overturned near mile marker 121 on I-75 North, causing the tank to puncture and gasoline to leak all over the interstate. I-75 near Callahan Road in Knoxville was closed for a few hours while crews worked to clean up the spilled gasoline, and one lane of I-75 was reopened at about 10:30 a.m. The accident was reportedly caused when a Pontiac Sunfire blew a tire and was unable to get out of the left lane before coming to a stop. The driver of the Sunfire tried to get the attention of the driver of the gas tanker, now identified as John Stepp of Gate City, Virginia, but was unable to do so before it was too late. The tanker crashed into the Sunfire, causing it to flip and begin leaking gasoline. The driver of the tanker was transported to UT Medical Center and his condition was unknown at the time. The driver of the Sunfire was not injured.

Continue reading " Gas Tanker Overturns, Closes Down Part of I-75 " »

Sixty-Four year-old Rita Webber had just finished having lunch with her husband on Wednesday at Nixon’s Deli in Knoxville when Mrs. Webber got into her car, started it up, and proceeded to drive directly into the Deli at which she just ate. Investigators reportedly believe that she had the car in drive instead of reverse (a fact which would seem easily deduced without an immense amount of investigation) and accidentally drove into the storefront. Thankfully no one was hurt, although the restaurant did suffer a substantial amount of damage and will require major repairs. It is recommended that customers who are unhappy with their dining experience refrain from driving their automobiles through the restaurant and instead contact a manager or fill out a comment card.

Continue reading " Car Crashes Into Knoxville Deli, But No One Injured " »

A member of the Tennessee Highway Patrol was charged with DUI last Friday after law enforcement officials spotted the pickup truck of Gregory Brown, age 40, driving erratically and weaving in and out of traffic. At one point, officials aw the truck briefly cross into oncoming traffic before swerving back over to the correct side of the road. Brown was stopped on suspicion of DUI and failed a good number of field sobriety tests including balancing, walking heel to toe, and counting backward. Upon making the stop, the officer also noticed that Brown was driving with a cup of beer in the console.

Continue reading " Tennessee Highway Patrol Pilot Charged with DUI " »