Driver of stolen off-road vehicle, who crashed while fleeing police, dies two days later

A Tennessee man, who led police on a pursuit Wednesday in a stolen off-road vehicle and subsequently crashed, has died as a result of his injuries.

Photo by Constable Ron “Bubba” Bowling. The driver of this stolen side-by-side is carried up an embankment Wednesday by emergency workers after crashing the vehicle. He died Friday.

Scott Crawford, 40, of Oneida, Tennessee, succumbed to his injuries Friday at the University of Kentucky Medical Center where he was flown after the crash, according to a Whitley County Sheriff’s Department release.

On Sept. 5, Deputies Brandon Prewitt and Jonas Saunders responded to a Highway 511 residence after a side-by-side off-road vehicle was reported stolen.

While police were at the residence, the vehicle’s owner received information that the vehicle might be located in the Hemlock area, according to the release.

Prewitt attempted to locate the vehicle in the Hemlock area, and Williamsburg Police Officer Greg Rhodes searched the nearby Ballard Ford East area.

Constable Ron “Bubba” Bowling had been providing extra patrol at the Ballard Ford boat ramp, and observed a vehicle matching the description of the side-by-side, according to the release.

When Rhodes spotted the vehicle, the driver accelerated, lost control, flipped approximately three times and came to rest eight to 10 feet over an embankment, the release stated.

Whitley County EMS, Goldbug Volunteer Fire Department and others worked to treat Crawford at the scene, and bring him up the embankment.

“Even after all the poor decisions made, Williamsburg police officers, Whitley Sheriff deputies, a state trooper, Goldbug firefighters, Whitley EMS staff, neighbors and strangers all pulled together to help the very one that made the poor decisions,” Bowling noted in a post on his Facebook page.