Juveniles injured following high-speed pursuit

By Kathy Helms-Hughes
STAR STAFF

   A 16-year-old Blountville juvenile recently involved in a high-speed pursuit in Carter County was arrested Monday night by Carter County Sheriff's Department Deputy Laverne Julian after he attempted to elude the officer and wrecked on Garrison Hollow Road.
   The boy's 14-year-old brother, who also was involved in a separate high-speed pursuit the day after his brother was apprehended, was injured in Monday's accident along with a 16-year old passenger from Johnson City.
   According to Deputy Julian, the officer walked outside the sheriff's department and observed a gray Datsun sports car traveling south on U.S. Highway 19E with no tail lights. The officer caught up with the vehicle and turned on his emergency lights in an attempt to pull the car over to tell the driver the lights were not working. Rather than stopping for the officer, the driver accelerated to a high rate of speed.
   Deputy Julian activated his siren but the vehicle continued on in a reckless manner, making a quick left-hand turn onto Riverbottom Road in front of a car traveling north on 19E, and then made a right on River Road, traveling a short distance to Garrison Hollow Road. There, the driver accelerated, leaving the roadway on the left-hand side, overcorrected, and then lost control of the vehicle. According to the report, the vehicle turned completely around in the roadway, ran off the right side of the road and struck an embankment. The car then flipped over on its top.
   Deputy Julian radioed for Carter County Rescue Squad, however, before he could stop his patrol car, the driver got out of the vehicle and ran up an embankment into the woods. The officer pursued the subject on foot and after a chase through the woods located the juvenile hiding under a fallen tree. He was taken into custody.
   When the officer and the juvenile came out of the woods, other members of the sheriff's department and rescue squad were on the scene. The driver's younger brother was transported to Sycamore Shoals Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The 16-year-old passenger had to be extracted from the vehicle and was transported to Johnson City Medical Center.
   The driver, who was uninjured, was charged with driving with no valid license, violation of light law, reckless endangerment and fleeing to avoid apprehension.