A Chuckey man was arrested on Thursday after wrecking his vehicle while fleeing from police.
A deputy with the Greene County Sheriff’s Department saw a Chevy Tahoe with switched tags on Erwin Highway around 2:15 PM. The deputy attempted a traffic stop, but the driver, identified as William R. Shelton of Horse Creek Road, sped up. The vehicle got up to East Andrew Johnson Highway and turned right. The deputy got caught up in traffic near the intersection with South Rufe Taylor Road, but kept the vehicle in sight. A second deputy spotted Shelton and became involved in the pursuit.
Shelton then wrecked at the intersection of East Andrew Johnson Highway and the Tusculum Bypass after crashing into a GMC Silverado driven by Wilbur Mathes. A passenger in Shelton’s vehicle, Miranda Hammett, reportedly got out and ran a few feet before being apprehended. Shelton was placed into handcuffs.
Shelton’s wallet was found in the vehicle, which contained around $780 cash. A backpack was on the passenger floorboard and contained a large amount of baggies, a .380 pistol with six rounds in the magazine, a .22 pistol with 10 rounds in the magazine, two digital scales, baggies of pills, and a container with a gram of fentanyl inside of it. Another bag was under the passenger seat that contained four glass pipes and two pieces of rubber tubing.
Shelton was transported to the Greene County Detention Center for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, the manufacture, delivery or sale of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, evading arrest, and reckless endangerment involving the use of a deadly weapon. Hammett was transported by EMS to the hospital.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol also responded to the scene to investigate the accident.
