Knoxville, TN (WOKI) An investigation is underway following a deadly single-car crash Tuesday morning on Pellissippi Parkway.
Knoxville Police Department officials say officers responded around 8:30 a.m. to I-140 near Northshore Drive, where witnesses had reported that a car had flipped off the roadway.
When officers arrived on the scene, KPD says they found a car upside down next to a tree. The driver and only occupant of the car, an adult woman, was pronounced dead.
It was reported that the car lost control for reasons that remain under investigation and veered off of the roadway.
The identity of the victim has not been released.
Knoxville officers responded around 8:30 a.m. to I-140 near Northshore Drive, where witnesses had reported a car had flipped off the road.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) UPDATE 7/3: An elderly Scott County couple at the center of a TBI Silver Alert has been found safe.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation officials announcing Wednesday afternoon that 73-year-old Larry Young and 74-year-old Beverly Young were located after being seen last on Saturday, June 29 riding their ATV in the Brimstone Mountain area in Robbins, Tennessee.
Helicopters, drones and volunteers had been searching for the pair who were reported to have numerous medical conditions that may have impaired their ability to return safely without assistance.
ORIGINAL STORY: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has issued a Silver Alert for a missing elderly couple out of Scott County.
Officials with the Scott County Sheriff’s Office say 73-year-old Larry Young and 74-year-old Beverly Young have been missing since Saturday evening, June 29.
Larry Young, 73 (Courtesy: Scott County Sheriff’s Office)
The two, who both have medical conditions, were last seen at Brimstone Recreation ATV Park in Robbins, Tennessee. They were both last known to be on trail 43 near the monster pond.
Beverly Young, 74 (Courtesy: Scott County Sheriff’s Office)
Those with information are being asked to call the sheriff’s office at 423-663-0409 or the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.
Update: The two victims who were killed in the shooting that happened early Tuesday morning in the parking lot of The Pint House on Merchant Drive have been identified as Zachery Herrera, 28 of Knoxville, and John Goosie, 41 of Knoxville.
Two suspects were positively identified after continued investigation throughout the day on Tuesday. The investigation was led by Knoxville Police Department Homicide Unit detectives and assisted by Field Operations Officers, Organized Crime Unit detectives and Knox County Sheriff’s Office personnel.
The suspects were identified as Kevin Matthews, 40, and Steven Davis, 36.
Based on the investigation, which included a review of the business’s surveillance footage, Matthews and Davis approached the bar and started assaulting Herrera outside of the front entrance for reasons that remain unknown. Herrera was a security guard at The Pint House. Goosie was a patron who was attempting to break up the fight.
At some point during the altercation, Matthews pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots, striking both Herrera and Goosie. An adult woman also suffered minor injuries from a graze wound to the foot. Herrera died at the UT Medical Center, while Goosie died at the scene.
Matthews is being charged with two counts of first-degree murder, while Davis was charged with aggravated assault and violation of parole.
Davis was taken into custody last night by Organized Crime Unit detectives and Community Engagement Response Team officers. Davis was located in the parking lot of the Shell gas station at 6210 Asheville Highway last night just before 10 p.m.
As of this morning, efforts remain ongoing to locate Matthews, who is shown in the attached picture. Anyone with information concerning Matthews’ whereabouts is urged to contact East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers at 865-215-7165. Tipsters can remain anonymous and be eligible to receive a cash reward. Matthews should be considered armed and dangerous.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Kevin Matthews
Original story: Knoxville Police Department Homicide Unit detectives are investigating a shooting with multiple victims that happened early Tuesday morning on Merchant Drive.
At around 2:45 a.m. on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, KPD officers responded to The Pint House at 815 Merchant Drive in regards to a shooting that occurred just outside of the front entrance of the bar.
Officers arrived on scene and located three gunshot victims. One man was pronounced dead at the scene, while a second man was transported to the UT Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. The third victim, an adult woman, suffered minor injuries from a grazing wound.
The suspect reportedly ran from the scene prior to officer arrival. At this time, a suspect has not been located, arrested or charged.
The motive for the shooting remains under active investigation. As of this morning, detectives are continuing to gather evidence and witness statements.
The investigation is ongoing and additional information will be provided as it progresses.
Anyone with information that could assist the investigation is urged to contact East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers at 865-215-7165. Tipsters can remain anonymous and be eligible to receive a cash reward.
The reward is increased for information that leads to the capture of fugitive wanted on two counts of first-degree murder.
Aaron White is accused of killing two people in Grainger County and the reward is now $7,000 for information leading to his arrest in the deaths of Deven McDaniel and Jonathan Atkins whose bodies were found at one of the victim’s Bean Station home.
White is on the TBI’s most wanted list and is considered armed and dangerous.
If you have any information please call 1-800-TBI-FIND or Crime Stoppers 865-215-7165.
GATLINBURG, Tenn.—The National Park Service (NPS) issued a prospectus for a concessions contract to provide lodging, food, beverage and retail services at LeConte Lodge within Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The prospectus explains the business opportunity and the terms and conditions under which the NPS will award the 10-year concessions contract.
The NPS will hold a site visit for LeConte Lodge on July 11, 2024. Registration is required to attend the site visit. To register, please contact William Gordon, Interior Region 2 Concessions Management Specialist, at 470-445-0625 or [email protected].
LeConte Lodge, the only overnight lodging facility in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, lies just below Mount LeConte’s summit at 6,360 feet. Accessible only by foot or horseback, the lodge offers a unique experience for its guests.
All offers must be received by the NPS no later than 4 p.m. EDT on September 5, 2024.
The Knoxville Police Department has released the pertinent body-camera footage from the police shooting that happened on Belle Terra Road on the morning of Thursday, June 20, 2024.
At around 7:17 a.m. on June 20, 2024, KPD officers responded to the 2000 block of Belle Terra Road in regards to a woman who was reportedly armed with a knife and threatening to harm herself and others.
Officers Arim Ismail, Tisha Knickerbocker and Riley Lackey arrived at the scene at around 7:30 a.m. and made their way towards the home. As officers approached the home from the street, the woman, since identified as 49-year-old Shilo Rice, charged towards them while wielding a knife in a threatening manner.
Officers ordered Rice to stop but she continued to run towards officers, at which time all three officers fired. Rice was struck multiple times. Officers rendered aid until medical personnel arrived at the scene. Rice was transported to the UT Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
A link to the video can be here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOLt9Af6gOA. * The video shows extremely graphic images that could be disturbing to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised. The video starts as officers are approaching the home and ends shortly after the shooting, as officers are providing medical care.
The shooting is being investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, per standard protocol, while the KPD’s Office of Professional Standards is also conducting an internal administrative investigation. Both of those investigations are still ongoing. Officers Ismail, Knickerbocker and Lackey remain on routine administrative leave.
Per department policy, in the event of a critical incident, the Office of Public Information in coordination with the Technical Services Unit and other appropriate department personnel, will immediately begin preparing a video of said incident for public release. The purpose of the video release is to inform the community of the circumstances that led to the incident in a timely fashion. The department strives to release critical incident video to the public as expeditiously as possible, in coordination with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Sevierville, TN (WOKI) An investigation is underway, and the body of a man found dead late Friday afternoon in Sevierville is identified.
A city spokesperson says 50-year-old Kenny Charles Davis of Sevierville was found dead in a vehicle just off Two Rivers Boulevard. Davis is believed to have been homeless and was found by a city utility employee.
The spokesperson adds that “no foul play is suspected” at this time, but they are waiting for the medical examiner’s determination.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) South Knoxville residents are working to save Bower Field from rezoning.
Currently, the land is listed as “public park,” but a proposal in November of 2023 to the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission is trying to change that designation to “general business.”
If granted, the change would allow for the company who owns the land to build more homes, transforming that part of Chapman Highway from a rural area into a residential area.
A Facebook page has been started by concerned citizens who want to keep the ball park.
The planning commission will meet on July 11 to hear the rezoning proposal.
Rezoning proposal could get rid of Bower Field, protestors gather to help fight against that possibility. (Courtesy: WVLT)
Three people were killed, including two young children, in a crash that happened early Monday morning on I-40 East.
At around 3:25 a.m. on Monday, July 1, 2024, Knoxville Police Department officers responded to a single-car crash on I-40 East just east of Strawberry Plains Pike.
Based on the investigation conducted at the scene, it is believed that a Honda sedan was traveling east on I-40 when it went off the road to the right for reasons that remain under investigation and came to rest after the rear side of the vehicle crashed into a tree.
Two children, a 3-year-old and a five-month old, were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, an adult man, and the front passenger, an adult woman, were transported to an area hospital with critical injuries. The man has since been pronounced deceased as a result of his injuries, while the woman remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Speed was possibly a factor in the crash, which remains under active investigation by KPD crash reconstruction investigators.
The identities of the deceased is being withheld pending next of kin notification.
A new set of laws is set to take effect on July 1 in Tennessee. Amongst the some 200 laws taking effect are bills signed by Gov. Bill Lee that will impact healthcare in the state.
Below is a look at some of the laws going into effect that will impact healthcare in some way:
Those with power of attorney for healthcare decisions cannot be prevented from visiting a patient by prohibiting hospitals from restricting or terminating a power of attorney’s visiting rights. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, some hospitals suspended or revoked a patient’s power of attorney’s right to visit and make healthcare decisions, resulting in many patients passing away without being able to say goodbye to their loved ones. Visitors would still be required to follow safety protocols, but they cannot be forced to adhere to any protocols such as having a vaccination or medical procedure done before entering the hospital.
A new law gradually phases out the Certificate of Need (CON) permit requirements to provide nearly a dozen healthcare services in the state during the next five years. The Tennessee Health Facilities Commission currently regulates the healthcare industry statewide through the CON program. That process requires a permit to be issued to establish or modify a healthcare institution, facility or service at a designated location.
The timeline for the removal of CON permit requirements is as follows:
July 1, 2025: Freestanding emergency departments not located within 10 miles of a competing acute care hospital or other freestanding emergency department would no longer need a CON. Additionally, any county without an actively licensed acute care hospital would also not require a CON for any services except rehabilitation hospitals, home health agencies, hospice, methadone clinics and nursing homes.
Dec. 1, 2025: Intellectual disability institutional habilitation facilities, burn units, neonatal intensive care units, magnetic resonance imaging services and positron emission tomography
Dec. 1, 2027: Ambulatory surgical treatment centers, linear accelerator procedures and long-term care hospitals
Dec. 1, 2029: Open heart surgery
People with disabilities can continue gainfully working without losing their health insurance coverage through TennCare by participating in a buy-in program. The law allows enrollees to pay a monthly premium of 5% of their income to receive the care and benefits needed. Previous income restrictions limited the types of work individuals with disabilities could do without losing health coverage.
Mental coverage expanded by requiring TennCare to cover mental health services at the same coverage rate for alcoholism and drug-dependent patients.
Requirements eliminated of recurring in-person doctor visits for telehealth patients. The law gives providers the discretion as to whether patients are required to meet first in person or thereafter.
New diseases are reported from the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP) within three years for newborn screenings. The RUSP is a list of conditions that should be tested for during newborn screening, and this law ensures a quicker timeline for reporting these rare genetic disorders and diseases.
TennCare is allowed to cover medical expenses for genetic testing to identify treatments for children with rare diseases. The law offers hope to families by easing the financial burdens of identifying and treating a rare disease by allowing access to testing, potentially saving a child’s life.
When the calendar turns over to July 1, not only will the summer be well underway, but Tennessee will have some new laws going into effect.
Governor Bill Lee signed a slew of bills into law during the latest Legislative session in Nashville. Before July 1, some bills went into immediate effect upon Lee’s signature; for example, the bill allowing armed teachers in the state is already effective.
About 200 laws are taking effect today (July 1):
Prohibits the purchase or possession of a gun by someone under 25 if they’ve committed certain crimes.
HB1600: As enacted, prohibits the purchase or possession of a firearm by a person under 25 if the person was previously adjudicated delinquent for an act that, if committed by an adult, would have constituted certain offenses; allows the TBI access to juvenile court records for the limited purpose of performing a background check prior to the transfer of a firearm or to determine eligibility for a handgun carry permit pursuant to existing law.
HB1640: As enacted, enacts “Jillian’s Law,” which makes various changes relative to being adjudicated as a mental defective or judicially committed to a mental institution, including requiring a person judicially committed to remain committed until the competency of the person to stand trial is restored or, if competency is unable to be restored but the person no longer meets the standard, until the court with criminal jurisdiction over the charges approves a mandatory outpatient treatment plan that accounts for the safety of the community.
HB1675: As enacted, expands the eligibility for reimbursement as a relative caregiver by removing the income limitations and including a relative caregiver who meets the eligibility requirements and has been awarded custody by an order of any court.
Bolsters the juvenile court’s ability to take children into custody or remove them from parent/guardian who can’t be excluded as perpetrator of abuse. Adds more possible charges.
HB1676: As enacted, specifies that a juvenile court proceeding may be commenced by the taking of a child into custody or the removal of custody from a parent or legal guardian; requires the juvenile court in a dependency and neglect proceeding to determine whether a parent, guardian, relative, or caregiver of the child cannot be excluded as a perpetrator of severe child abuse against the child; prohibits a juvenile court from returning a child victim of severe child abuse to the custody of a person who cannot be excluded as the perpetrator unless certain circumstances are met; makes various other changes.
HB1817: As enacted, increases the penalty from a Class D felony to a Class B felony for a person who negligently, by act or omission, engages in conduct that places a child eight years of age or less in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment.
HB1906: As enacted, makes changes to the law relative to statutes of limitations for bringing actions for injury or illness based on certain child sexual abuse offenses, including trafficking offenses.
HB1909: As enacted, enacts the “Laken Riley Act of 2024,” which generally prohibits a public institution of higher education from prohibiting adults lawfully present on the institution’s property from carrying a nonlethal weapon for purposes of self-defense; allows certain exceptions.
Law enforcement agencies must report to appropriate federal officials regarding the immigration status if someone is found not lawfully present in the U.S.
HB2124: As enacted, requires, rather than authorizes, law enforcement agencies to communicate with the appropriate federal official regarding the immigration status of any individual, including reporting knowledge that a particular alien is not lawfully present in the United States or otherwise cooperate with the appropriate federal official in the identification, apprehension, detention, or removal of aliens not lawfully present in the United States.
SB0757: As enacted, generally requires, when a person is arrested, booked, or confined in the jail of a county or municipality, the arresting law enforcement agency and the keeper of a jail to collaborate to verify the citizenship status of the person and the sheriff to report the status of those who are not lawfully present, or whose status cannot be determined, to the district attorneys general conference.
Teens 15 or older can be tried as an adult for committing certain crimes.
HB2126: As enacted, allows a juvenile court to transfer a child, who is 15 or older, to be tried as an adult in criminal court for the offense of organized retail crime, theft of a firearm, or an attempt to commit such offense; revises law with regard to confinement of a child in a local juvenile detention facility, a juvenile detention facility. or an adult detention facility.
HB2198: As enacted, increases the penalty for the offense of threatening to commit an act of mass violence on school property or at a school-related activity from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony.
HB2323: As enacted, enacts the “Chris Wright Act,” which increases the penalty for a third or subsequent domestic assault conviction from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony; upgrades the offense classification for certain qualifying misdemeanor offenses to a Class E felony upon a defendant’s conviction for a sixth or subsequent qualifying misdemeanor.
HB2590: As enacted, makes bullying and cyberbullying offenses subject to the same penalties as harassment; requires an officer to make a report of bullying and notify a parent or guardian when victim is a minor.
SB0378: As enacted, regulates the production and sale of hemp-derived cannabinoids, including products known as delta-8 and delta-10.
SB1738: As enacted, enacts the “Tennessee Foster and Adoptive Parent Protection Act,” which generally prohibits the department of children’s services from requiring a current or prospective adoptive or foster parent to affirm, accept, or support any government policy regarding sexual orientation or gender identity that conflicts with the parent’s sincerely held religious or moral beliefs; makes related changes.
Death penalty is authorized for those convicted of charges including rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, or especially aggravated rape of a child.
SB1834: Amends TCA Title 39; Title 40 and Chapter 1062 of the Public Acts of 2022. As introduced, authorizes the death penalty as a punishment for rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, or especially aggravated rape of a child.
SB1972: As enacted, enacts “The Debbie and Marie Domestic Violence Protection Act,” which makes revisions to law related to global positioning monitoring system devices, including requiring the court to order an offender to wear such a device under certain circumstances unless the court finds the offender no longer poses a threat to the alleged victim or public safety, requiring a cellular device application or electronic receptor device provided to the victim to be capable of notifying the victim if the offender is within a prescribed proximity of the victim’s cellular device or electronic receptor device, and making other revisions.
SB2570: As enacted, authorizes a person who suffers loss or injury as a result of a defendant intentionally obstructing a highway, street, or other place used for the passage of vehicles or conveyances to bring a cause of action against such person to recover compensatory damages from the loss or injury.
SB2691: As enacted, prohibits the intentional injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus within the borders of this state into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight.
SB2782: As introduced, creates a civil cause of action against any person who intentionally recruits, harbors, or transports an unemancipated minor within this state for the purpose of receiving a prohibited medical procedure, regardless of where the medical procedure is to be procured.
SB2929: As enacted, requires the department of children’s services, county medical examiners, chief medical examiners, and facilities that perform autopsies to establish policies and procedures for the prioritization of the completion of final autopsy reports for fatalities of certain children.
