Lenoir City car wreck leaves one

Jeremy Nash news-herald.net

A Greenback man is facing multiple charges, including aggravated vehicular homicide, after the blue 2000 Ford Excursion he was driving rear-ended another vehicle about 2 a.m. Nov. 19 on U.S. Highway 321.

A passenger in the vehicle died from injuries sustained in the wreck.

A report filed by Lenoir City Police Inv. Brad Brown indicates the Excursion struck a 2008 Mazda MZ6, which was stationary at a red light on Highway 321 in front of Taco Bell. A passenger in the back seat, a 21-year-old female, was trapped and appeared in critical condition.

“EMS arrived on scene and transported all three patients to (the University of Tennessee) Medical Center but were concerned with the rear passenger’s injuries suspecting them to be potentially fatal,” Brown wrote in a report. “She died hours later at UT Medical Center.”

One officer saw the driver of the Excursion, Tracy Lee Oliver, 46, standing by the driver’s door and asked him if he had consumed alcohol. Oliver stated he had, and that was further verified after he performed poorly on standardized field sobriety testing.

Lenoir City Police Officer Jeremy Dishner noted he could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage on Oliver’s breath as he read the Tennessee Implied Consent Form.

“The suspect stated he would decline to give consent so that it would give him more time, indicating to Lt. Dishner that this would reduce the intoxication levels in his blood prior to the draw,” Brown wrote in a report.

Officers obtained a search warrant for a blood draw.

A search of the vehicle prior to towing revealed a loaded Glock 19 in the center console, an empty .22LR Derringer, 2.17 ounces of suspected marijuana in containers, $6,051, several pre-packaged containers of marijuana edibles, various empty cans of Miller Light and Coors Light and a pipe with suspected marijuana and suspected marijuana residue in it. Officers also found a 12-bottle Coors Light case behind the center console, which had five cans of Miller Light that were still cold.

“(National Crime Information Center) confirmed that the defendant has a revoked license for two prior DUI convictions, one from 2015 and the other from 2006,” Brown wrote in a report. “The defendant also did not have valid insurance.”

Of the other two passengers, one was released without serious injuries, while the other was treated for a possible brain bleed.

Don White, Lenoir City police chief, estimated the test of Oliver’s blood alcohol content level could take four months to return from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation crime lab.

“Once again we’ve had to deal with a terrible tragedy where an individual was killed and another one was seriously injured due to impaired driving,” White said. “... It’s just a very horrible, horrible incident that occurred in the city. We were hoping to get through the holidays without having to deal with a fatality, but we did not make it.”

Oliver was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, driving under the influence, reckless endangerment, possession of a firearm during a dangerous felony, possession of a handgun while under the influence, manufacture, sell, delivery or resale of a Schedule VI substance, simple possession/casual exchange, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving on a revoked/suspended license and released on $151,000 bond.