May 15, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
Two Tuesday afternoon wrecks kept law enforcement and first responders busy but no one was injured.
The first one occurred on Coconut Ridge Road.
According to THP Sergeant Tracy White, a 17 year old Smithville boy was driving a 2007 Chevy Silverado when he ran off the left side of the road and plunged over the side of the hill. According to the boy an oncoming vehicle was in his lane as he rounded a curve forcing him off the road.
Meanwhile two vehicles were involved in a crash on North Congress Boulevard.
Trooper C.J. Withers of the Tennessee Highway Patrol said that 31 year old Christopher Ogletree of Smithville, traveling south in a 2003 Chevy S-10, crossed into an oncoming lane to pass other vehicles in front of him when he lost control and ran off the left side of the highway into the grass. The truck then came back across the highway and struck a southbound Hyundai Elantra, driven by 55 year old Alena Meraz of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her husband Francisco was a passenger. Upon impact both vehicles went off the right side of the highway. The Hyundai came to a stop in a corn field.
According to Trooper Withers, Ogletree faces DUI and other charges.