More information has been provided on the incident in which a 14 year-old was injured after falling off the bed of a truck on April 22nd at the West Greene High School.
The Mosheim Police Department provided a report this morning, which states the juvenile victim was already being loaded onto a helicopter by the time the officer arrived at the school. The officer was able to speak with another juvenile who reportedly was driving the truck. He stated he got permission from the owner of the vehicle who was also his teacher, Robert Meadows, to use the vehicle so he could throw items away into a dumpster. The victim was allegedly sitting on the tailgate before the driver began pulling away.
According the report, both the teacher and other juvenile made sure the victim was ready before accelerating and said once they made sure he was ready, the juvenile driver accelerated. The report states they then realized the victim was no longer in the bed of the truck and had fallen off.
Meadows, who has taught Agriculture and Landscaping for six years, said during an interview that he allows his students to operate his personal truck to perform tasks like transferring soil/rocks into the dumpster. When questioned on the school policy regarding letting students use his vehicle, Meadows said he was unsure. A vehicle search was later conducted and a 380 Smith and Wesson M&P was located in the center console. No charges were filed at the time of the report.
During the Greene County Board of Education meeting last week, board members said a prayer for the 14 year-old. Chairman of the board Rick Tipton shared the juvenile was still in a critical but stable condition on Thursday and reported he was improving. Radio Greeneville did speak with the Director of Greene County Schools David McClain, who was able to confirm that the victim was released from the hospital on Saturday and is now home.
