A Knoxville man is sentenced to more than a decade behind bars after a deadly crash involving a motorcycle on Kingston Pike.
The Knox County District Attorney’s Office says 23-year-old Christian Elwood was driving down Kingston Pike at 91 mph on July 23rd in 2022 when he hit the victim, who was on a motorcycle, near Huxley Road and died the next day.
Elwood was convicted of vehicular homicide by intoxication, reckless endangerment, driving under the influence and speeding. He has been sentenced to 11 years behind bars without the possibility of parole.
White Pine, TN (WOKI) A teacher in Jefferson County is arrested Friday for allegedly hitting a student with an electronic device.
Officials with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office say a school resource officer at White Pine School was told that 31-year-old Joseph Drake Lee, a special education teacher at the school, struck a student with an iPad on Thursday.
Lee was arrested at the school following an investigation by the SRO and an investigator with the Criminal Investigation Division.
He was charged with assault and child abuse and taken to the Jefferson County Detention Center.
The student was checked by the nurse following the incident.
The teacher hit a 7-year-old student with an iPad, according to police. (Courtesy: JCSO)
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) The University of Tennessee Police Department served active arrest warrants Wednesday on one of their own.
UTPD officials say Anthony Rizo, who had been employed by the University of Tennessee Police Department for just over seven months, was terminated from his employment for alleged actions taken while off-duty and in the state of Georgia.
He was taken into custody on two active arrest warrants out of Paulding County, Georgia for charges of Peeping Tom and Stalking.
“We have high expectations for the behavior of our officers both on and off duty,” said UTPD Chief Sean Patterson. “His alleged behavior does not reflect the values of our agency, and he is no longer employed by our agency.”
Rizo was turned over to Knox County Sheriff’s Deputies for transport to the Knox County Jail where he will await extradition to Georgia.
Rizo was turned over to Knox County Sheriff’s Deputies for transport to the Knox County Jail where he will await extradition to Georgia. (Courtesy: KCSO)
Madisonville, TN (WOKI) An investigation into a house fire involving a fatality is underway in Monroe County.
Officials with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office say multiple fire agencies along with MCSO’s Criminal Investigation Division responded to the scene in the 6200 block of Highway 411 in Madisonville around 1:00 p.m. Friday afternoon.
MCSO says the name of the individual who perished in the fire is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Additional details about the fire have not been released.
The fire happened in the 6200 Block of Highway 411 on Friday. (Frankly Media)
An investigation is underway following an early morning (Friday) house fire in Halls that seriously injures three.
Firefighters with Rural Metro called to the home in the 100 block of Keith Way Lane and found a single-wide mobile home with smoke showing and people still inside.
Firefighters rescued one person, and two others were all taken to the hospital with what appeared to be serious conditions.
An upcoming Dolly Parton Broadway musical is prompting “The Search for Dolly,” meaning performers of all ages could play the country star on stage.
Dolly put out the call, asking for people to take a minute-long video of themselves singing a Dolly Parton song, then upload it to social media with the hashtag “#SearchForDolly.”
Here’s the video requirements:
One minute performance of the Dolly song of your choice.
The video should start with you introducing yourself and where you’re from. Name, location and contact information will be collected as part of the application. For Under 18s, date of birth and parental/guardian permission is required. Submissions must be received by 11:59PM ET on January 12, 2025.
MARYVILLE, Tenn. – Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee thanks East Tennessee for their overwhelming generosity during the food bank’s 14 th annual Double Your Donation (DYD) event on December 5th. Thanks to $750,000 in matching gifts from our sponsors, and the tremendous support from our community, the match was successfully met, resulting in a total of $1,649,550 in donations.
Second Harvest Food Bank Thanks Community for Support – Second Harvest received enough donations to provide 4,948,650 meals during DYD
“We’re beyond thankful for the incredible support from our community during our 14th Annual Double Your Donation event,” said Elaine Streno, Executive Director of Second Harvest. “Thanks to this day of giving, we’re able to provide 4,948,650 meals to families across the 18 counties we serve.”
Second Harvest would like to thank Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union, Republic Plastics, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Kroger, Commercial Bank, SouthEast Bank, Enrichment Federal Credit Union, UnitedHealthcare, and Bush Brothers for their generosity and support.
About Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee, a member of Feeding America, has worked to compassionately feed East Tennesseans experiencing hunger since 1982. Last year, Second Harvest distributed more than 24 million pounds of food across an 18-county service area through multiple hunger-relief programs and 630+ community partners.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Southeastern Conference announced Wednesday that Tennessee wide receiver Bru McCoy was named to the 2024 SEC Football Community Service Team.
The SEC names a Community Service Team for each of its 21-league sponsored sports, looking to highlight an athlete from each school who gives back to his community through superior service efforts.
One of Tennessee football’s most active community servants, McCoy is helping to make sudden cardiac arrest prevention, awareness and treatment a priority this season as he co-created Huddle for Hearts. Through Huddle For Hearts, his work provides AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) to youth sports organizations – focusing primarily on underserved communities.
McCoy has helped facilitate multiple CPR training and demo seminars in the Knoxville community, and four AED machines have been donated to inner-city youth. He also hosted a charity golf tournament during the summer of 2024 to benefit the organization.
The redshirt senior earned his undergraduate degree in communication studies in August 2024 and is rounding out his third season with the Vols and sixth at the collegiate level this fall. He is a semifinalist for the 2024 Comeback Player of the Year Award and Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year and served as Tennessee’s nominee for the Wuerffel Trophy and AFCA Good Works Team.
McCoy started every game during Tennessee’s 10-2 regular season and led the Vols with 35 receptions, totaling 432 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
2024 Tennessee Postseason Award Honors as of Dec. 4
Nashville, TN (WOKI) The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reports that three children who were kidnapped from a bus stop in Virginia may be in East Tennessee.
An Amber Alert has been issued for 10-year-old Jai’Marcus Lewis, 8-year-old Ja’Miyah Lewis, and 6-year-old Ja’Liyah Lewis. Authorities say the three children were were kidnapped at an apartment complex in Virginia Thursday morning. The Augusta County Sheriff’s Office says the kidnapping took place at the Bobby’s Way apartment complex in Fishersville.
Police believe the children are with their biological mother, Shanice Chante Davidson. Deputies responded to a 911 call from the children’s parent at 8:27 a.m.
The three children were “waiting for the bus, when a black 4-door vehicle pulled up to the bus stop, and took the children,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Both Ja’Miyah and Ja’Liyah were wearing pink jackets, while Jai’Marcus was wearing a black and dark blue jacket with neon zippers, officials said. Davidson is described as a 35-year-old Black female. She is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 184 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes.
If you spot the vehicle or individuals, you’re urged to call 911 immediately.
“Investigative efforts indicate they may be in East Tennessee,”the TBI said. (Courtesy: TBI)
