Teen who allegedly tried to kill officers following chase was drunk, had no license

Johnny Creekmore, owner of Riverside Produce in Williamsburg, surveys damage done to his store when a Tenn. teen crashed his vehicle through it following a pursuit with police over the weekend.

After a 17-year-old Knoxville male led police on a high-speed chase through two states and crashed his truck through a Williamsburg market late Saturday evening, police couldn’t reach him due to the debris and instructed him to get out of the truck.

When he threw the vehicle in reverse and gunned the engine, Whitley County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ken Shepherd had a split second decision to make between shooting out the tires or shooting the driver.

Fortunately for the teenager, who is now facing attempted murder charges in addition to a whole host of other offenses, Shepherd chose to shoot the two back tires.

"At that point, I saw the reverse lights come on and I heard the accelerator get put to the floor. We only had two choices, to disable the driver or disable the vehicle. We choose to disable the vehicle first."

After Shepherd shot out the two rear tires, he heard the suspect let off the accelerator and his hands came out of the vehicle, he said.

Shepherd said that due to the size of the vehicle, a 3500 series truck, there weren’t many options for stopping the vehicle if it got back onto the road since police wouldn’t be able to run it off the road.

Whitley County Sheriff Colan Harrell praised all the officers involved for their restraint. 

"These men were in danger. They were justified. He had to be stopped in some manner," Harrell noted.

The incident began about 10:09 p.m. Saturday when the Tennessee Highway Patrol communications center in the Knoxville district received a report about a reckless driver on I-75 near the Caryville Exit in Campbell County.

THP Trooper Larry Skeen observed the suspect vehicle, which ran off the road and into an embankment near mile marker 144 about 10:17 p.m., said THP Public Information Officer Dalya Qualls.

"Trooper Skeen approached the suspect vehicle and verbalized commands to the driver. The driver did not respond and took off northbound on I-75 at a high rate of speed," Qualls said.

When the chase left Tennessee, Skeen discontinued the pursuit and  Kentucky State Police Trooper Duane Foley took the lead from the Tennessee Highway Patrol along with Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy Shawn Jackson, Shepherd and members of the Jellico Police Department.

As police gave chase during the pursuit, which reached speeds of about 100 mph, Williamsburg police officers got in position to deploy spike strips or stringer strips just north of Exit 11. The strips are designed to deflate the tires of a fleeing vehicle.

Instead, the 17-year-old exited the interstate and turned east onto Ky. 92. When he reached the intersection of Ky. 92 and US25W, the teen drove straight and plowed through the front of Riverside Produce.

"He probably thought that intersection of US25W and Highway 92 E went straight. He never hit his brakes," Shepherd said. "When he went in building, the brick building partially collapsed around the cab of the vehicle. We couldn’t get to the cab to get him out."

The three officers stood at the rear of the vehicle and yelled at the driver to exit the vehicle.

The suspect then placed the truck in reverse putting it into the path of the trooper and two deputies, KSP Public Affairs Officer Trooper Don Trosper said in a press release.

At that point Shepherd shot out the tires.

Shepherd suffered a minor hand injury during the incident, which was treated by Whitley County EMS at the scene. The juvenile was also treated by Whitley County EMS at the scene.

Harrell said the teen was just shaken up in the crash and possibly had a minor head injury.

In Kentucky, Foley charged the juvenile with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of criminal mischief, two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, first-degree fleeing or evading police, resisting arrest, reckless driving, speeding, driving while under the influence, and operating on a suspended or revoked operator’s license.

The juvenile was lodged in a Kentucky juvenile detention center.

In Tennessee, Skeen charged the driver with felony evading, DUI, driving on a suspended license, reckless driving, reckless endangerment and speeding. He is scheduled to be arraigned on June 26 in Campbell County.

Foley is in charge of the Kentucky investigation and was assisted by the Whitley County Sheriffs Office, the Williamsburg Police Department, the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Jellico Tennessee Police Department.

Major damage

Johnny Creekmore, owner of Riverside Produce, said that he isn’t sure how long the store will be closed, but said it would probably be at least one week and possibly longer.

The store has been in business since 1983 and has been in its present location for 20 years.

Creekmore said that a truck once damaged the porch and tore it loose, but that before Sunday, one had never gone into the building.

While the store with plywood where the glass doors used to be located still looked rough from the outside Monday morning, Creekmore said that was nothing compared to the damage inside the store.

Creekmore guessed Monday morning that between structural damage and destroyed inventory and fixtures the store suffered about $30,000 worth of damage.

"We had a lot of stock inside that was destroyed. We had fixtures in there that were destroyed. It looks pretty bad," Creekmore said.

In addition, the impact pushed several bags of dirt and fertilizer that had been on the porch into the store along with parts of the gate and fence, which had been outside the store.

Creekmore said the important thing was that no one was in the store when it happened and no one was injured during the crash, including the teenage driver.

Had the store been open, workers would have been standing behind the counter, which was pushed back about 15 feet into the store due to the impact of the crash.

Creekmore’s son, Johnny Creekmore Jr., said that several people might have been hurt or even killed if the crash had occurred during business hours.

He noted that his wife and nine-month-old baby were at the store Saturday sitting behind the counter near where the point of impact would later be late that evening.

"It makes you think about how quick everything can be taken away," he added.

Johnny Creekmore Jr. said that since the crash, he has been contacted by at least 100 friends and customers, who have offered to help if they can.

"In a bad time, it makes you feel good that people care and are willing to offer a helping hand to you," he added.