A fatal train crash in Sweetwater.
Police responding to the Duck Park area yesterday (Thursday) afternoon and say a woman, identified as Sharlotte Castillo-Wong, was driving across the tracks when the crossing’s arms came down, keeping her in the path of a Norfolk Southern train. She was struck by the train as she attempted to get out of her vehicle and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police say several roads and all tracks within the city’s limits will be shut down for an extended time.
A murder investigation is underway after Knoxville Police Department Homicide Unit detectives responded to a home in south Knoxville early Friday morning.
At around 1:15 a.m. on Friday, April 5, 2024, KPD officers were dispatched to a home in the 3200 block of Gilbert Lane.
Officers arrived on scene and found a 22-year-old woman dead inside the home. The cause of death is unknown at this time and pending the findings of the Regional Forensic Center autopsy. Officers also located a man and woman, both age 23, inside the home who had been shot. Neither victim’s injuries are expected to be life-threatening.
Sometime in the course of the investigation, another man, age 39, arrived at an area hospital to be treated for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. That individual, who is a person of interest in the Gilbert Lane investigation, was treated and released. He is currently being interviewed by Homicide Unit detectives.
It is believed the entire incident occurred inside of the Gilbert Lane home, where officers found multiple spent shell casings.
The investigation remains ongoing and in the early stages. The information provided is preliminary and subject to change as the investigation progresses. Updates will be provided when available.
A TBI SilverAlert has been issued for 80 year-old Donna Tripp, missing out of Hamilton County.
Donna was last seen April 4 in Chattanooga, wearing a pink plaid shirt, blue jeans.
Donna is 5’4”, weighs 155, with grey hair, brown eyes. She has a medical condition that may impair her ability to return safely without assistance.
She may be traveling in a 2017 blue Chevrolet Cruz, TX tag RHC 2388.
If you see Donna, please call the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office at 423-209-7000, or 1-800-TBI-FIND.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee football went under the lights of Neyland Stadium for its second spring scrimmage as the Volunteers worked all three phases in a two-hour workout Thursday night.
Unseasonably cool conditions, simulated crowd noise and the bright lights of Neyland at night greeted the team, which was a first for many of the new faces who joined the roster in January.
“Atypical spring night for here in Knoxville, but it’s an opportunity to get out and play in an environment that at some point next year we’re going to be in,” head coach Josh Heupel said. “The guys had a lot of energy tonight. They enjoyed being under the lights in a different type of day for a scrimmage. For us, it’s an opportunity that will parlay itself into a football game that we’re going to play next fall.”
The scrimmage saw the defense set the tone early with both first-team units going against each other followed by the second-team units squaring off.
“Defensively, I thought they started extremely fast and violent and destructive, got off the field on third downs and did a great job offensively and settled in on the second half of the scrimmage,” Heupel added.
Heupel was pleased with the Vols’ new-look, athletic secondary, which has made plays all spring led by safeties Andre Turrentine, Jourdan Thomas and Will Brooks and cornerbacks Jermod McCoy, Rickey Gibson III and Jalen McMurray.
“Will Brooks had a really good night tonight,” Heupel said. “(Andre Turrentine) has been really consistent throughout the course of spring ball. Jermod McCoy continues to play at a really high level. Those are a few of the guys that have been consistent, but also showed up tonight for us.”
On the ground, Knoxville native DeSean Bishop, Khalifa Keith and Hunter Barnes received a bulk of the carries with starter Dylan Sampson poised for a strong fall season.
“The running backs tonight, I thought DeSean Bishop ran extremely well tonight,” Heupel said. “Without watching the film, I’d say probably his best football that he’s played this spring. He’s a guy coming back off of an injury that is getting more comfortable as he’s gone through this spring.
Tennessee returns to the practice field Saturday to close out its third week of spring ball.
The Orange & White Game is set for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff in a limited capacity Neyland Stadium on April 13. Pregame and postgame festivities outside the stadium, highlighted by the Vol Village Music Festival and a watch party in Lot 9 are scheduled.
Cocke County, TN (WOKI) An inmate who escaped from the Cocke County detention center late Wednesday night is now back in custody.
Cocke County Sheriff’s Office officials say 37-year-old Stephen Jones was taken into custody Thursday afternoon on Shalebark Road in Newport after deputies received a complaint about a man in a hoodie matching Jones’s description.
He has been charged with felony escape.
Authorities had been searching the downtown area of Newport for Jones who escaped around 10:30 p.m.; he had been booked on charges of DUI, no insurance, open container, simple possession and false reporting.
Lenoir City, TN (WOKI) Authorities in Loudon County say an armed man who had barricaded himself inside a home in Lenoir City Thursday morning is now safe and in custody.
Officials with the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office say officers responded to the home in the 4000 block of Harrison Lane around 8:00 a.m. after a woman called to say her husband was threatening himself and others with a gun.
LCSO says officers arrived to find the man had barricaded himself inside the home with a weapon.
He came out of the home and was taken into custody around 11:30 following negotiations with the sheriff’s department.
LCSO says the man will receive medical attention, including a mental evaluation.
It’s marathon time in Tennessee.
The 2024 Covenant Health Knoxville Half Marathon is scheduled for 7:30 am this Sunday but first the Kids Run gets underway on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and the Covenant 5k starting at 7:00 p.m.
There will be road closures in place in and around downtown Knoxville to accommodate runners.
Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon announces road closures along race routes
Streets and lanes will be blocked within the center city and surrounding areas for the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon race events on April 6-7. All roads are expected to be open by 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 7.
Chalk Walk, live events and more will be happening simultaneously in Downtown Knoxville, and organizers are expecting high volume. Participants are urged to arrive at least 30 minutes before their race starts. Preferred routes include:
Downtown Knoxville live parking availability and a map of lots and garages can be accessed at https://www.downtownknoxville.org/explore/parking/?t%5b%5d=37. Knoxville Police Department will provide more traffic and parking information on social media.
The Clinch Avenue Viaduct is the start for all races and will be closed to traffic starting at 1 p.m. Saturday until 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Parking will be prohibited on Clinch Avenue between 11th and 16th streets, and vehicles parked on the street will be towed Saturday evening.
On Saturday, the Covenant Kids Run starts at 5:30 p.m., necessitating closures of 11th Street and World’s Fair Park Drive in front of the former Candy Factory building and Knoxville Museum of Art, and periodic closures of Clinch and White avenues between 11th and 13th streets and a small portion of 13th Street between Clinch and White avenues during the run.
The 5K starts at 7 p.m. on Saturday with closures throughout the Fort Sanders neighborhood until about 8:30 p.m.
On Sunday morning, the marathon will require staggered road closures from 7:20 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. throughout downtown Knoxville and the following neighborhoods: Fort Sanders, Sequoyah Hills, Fourth & Gill, Parkridge, Island Home and Old Sevier.
Motorists who need to reach Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center and East Tennessee Children’s Hospital on Sunday morning should take Alcoa Highway to the Cumberland Avenue/Kingston Pike exit and enter the Fort Sanders area via 20th Street.
The details for specific road closures are as follows:
An investigation is underway after a teen is killed in a car crash in Anderson County.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol says a 16-year-old died in the crash on Frost Bottom Road in Anderson County Monday morning and three teens were injured.
A 14-year-old teen was behind the wheel of a car which lost control and came to rest at an embankment near Highway 116.
None of the teens were wearing seatbelts. THP says charges are pending against all of the teens.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee wide receiver group has taken big steps during spring ball with the new additions of transfers and incoming freshmen. With the new boost of faces, the squad is leveling up their production each practice under the direction of third-year coach Kelsey Pope.
Pope and receivers Squirrel White, Dont’e Thornton Jr. and Chris Brazzell II spoke with local media following the conclusion of the eighth spring practice on Wednesday afternoon. The Vols worked out in shoulder pads prior to Thursday night’s scrimmage.
“It’s been physical, and it’s good to see,” Pope said. “I’ll tell you, there are some days the defense wins. You don’t always like that as a coach, but you do like to see which guys will respond to tough situations. That’s one of the things we have tried to put an emphasis on in the spring. It’s putting our guys in more physical situations. Last year, I can’t tell you if we got a pass interference call. You probably are not going to get one. So, we have to start practicing that way and not even anticipating it. Regardless of what happens, you have to go make plays regardless of who is draped over you or pulling you.”
White, a third-year veteran junior, returns as one of the main leaders in the receiving core. The Birmingham, Alabama, native produced his best season during the 2023 campaign with 67 receptions for 803 yards and two touchdowns. He produced three 100-yard receiving games, doing so against South Carolina, Alabama and Vanderbilt.
“The competition has been really good,” White said. “The defense, they are flying around making plays. We are getting each other better each and every day. Coming out there with a mindset of having fun out there, just playing from snap to whistle.”
Thornton Jr., a former Oregon transfer, returns as a primary outside threat for the Vols. Thornton Jr. posted 224 receiving yards on 13 receptions while securing one touchdown at Missouri, in which he sustained a lower-body injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
“To start, I am feeling very confident now that I have a year under my belt with the offense,” Thornton remarked. “I feel like everything is a lot easier for me. Now I can play faster, and not have to think too much while I am playing. With things going a little bit better towards the end of last season, then with me going down, that’s nothing I can control. I just used that as a way to get deeper in the playbook, build my faith and know what I need to work on when I come back.”
Brazzell II has made his way to Rocky Top after a two-year stint at Tulane. Brazzell II brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the field and in the film room. The 6-foot-5 lengthy receiver saw action in all 13 games during last season and boasted 44 receptions for 711 yards while hauling in five touchdown passes.
“I’m a bigger and also a taller receiver,” Brazzell said. ” I’m not really like a big-body receiver who runs big-guy routes. I’m able to run a slant, curl or a dig route. I’m also able to take the top off. I feel like I am an all-around receiver.”
Police need your help to find an inmate that’s on the loose after escaping from the Cocke County detention center.
Cocke County Sheriff C.J. Ball says 37-year-old Stephen Jones escaped last night (Thursday) and was last seen in the parking lot of Food City on Broadway Street.
Jones was wearing blue jeans, a dark blue shirt, and a black hat. He is charged with DUI, no insurance, open container, simple possession and false reporting.
If anyone has information, contact dispatch at 423-623-3064.
