KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A grand jury on Tuesday indicted a truck driver charged with vehicular homicide in the crash that killed Loudon County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Chris Jenkins in February.

Jenkins was killed on Feb. 3 when he was struck by a tractor-trailer while trying to remove a ladder from northbound I-75 near mile marker 73.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, identified as 43-year-old Christopher Savannah from Houston, Texas, has been indicted on charges of vehicular homicide by intoxication, vehicular homicide by recklessness, reckless endangerment, DUI, simple possession, possession of a handgun under the influence, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Savannah was taken into custody on a $1 million bond. He is set to appear in Loudon County court on Monday, August 15.

Koboat Trucking LLC, the Texas-based trucking company that employed Jenkins, was shut down in March by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration after the federal trucking regulator said the company was an ‘imminent hazard to public safety.’

A second truck driver, 35-year-old Sonny Beason of Loudon County, was charged with three counts of misdemeanor reckless endangerment and driving on a suspended license after investigators said he failed to secure the ladder that fell into the roadway.
 

Jenkins served in Loudon County Sheriff’s Office for roughly two decades. He first joined the department in 2002 as a corrections officer. He was promoted to patrol in 2003, and became a K-9 handler in 2007. Jenkins earned Patrol Supervisor of the Year in 2017. He was promoted to corporal in 2018, and promoted again in 2019 to sergeant.