Wlaf1450TOP PHOTO: A wild ride ended with one final wreck on Tuesday evening in LaFollette.
LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – Alcohol was involved in the crash yesterday that landed a Jacksboro man in jail on several charges by multiple agencies. Police arrested Oscar Byrge, 32, after reports of an intoxicated driver ended in a multiple vehicle crash in LaFollette. Two people sustained minor injuries during the crash. According to the Jacksboro Police report, once arrested, Byrge told officers he had drunk “a pint of liquor.”Byrge also caused wrecks in Anderson County and most likely has charges pending from that agency, according to Jacksboro Police Chief Jeremy Goins, who said LaFollette Police and the Tennessee Highway Patrol may have charges pending as well. Calls about a reckless driver in a van headed toward Campbell County came into dispatch from Anderson County soon after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.
It was all hands on deck Tuesday evening as emergency personnel raced to the multi-car wreck scene where West Beech Street meets Jacksboro Highway.
Jacksboro Police began following the gold Honda Odyssey at the four lane LaFollette bound.
Before his arrest, Byrge had a hit and run with a vehicle at El Pueblito’s Mexican Grill, according to the report. The van later wrecked as it tried to negotiate the turn onto West Beech Street at JR’s Tires and Used Cars.
Officers were advised that Byrge was hiding behind the church on Beech Street by a witness, when Campbell County Sheriff’s Deputy Dusty Davis observed Byrge running behind the church.
According to Jacksboro Police Chief Jeremy Goins, Byrge “basically ran towards the officers unknowingly.”
LaFollette Police Officers survey the damage and reconstruct the accident.
JPD Officer Frankllin Ayers and others chased the suspect on foot down Beech Street past the Calvary Baptist Church. According to one official, the suspect was arrested at gun point between a house and Litho-Craft Printing and Office Supply.
According to the report, after Byrge was ordered to get on the ground, officers could smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from him. He was also “belligerent with officers” and when asked, said he had “drunk a pint of liquor.”
Benge’s van came to a rest on a curb on the back side of JR’s Tires and Used Cars. It appeared the van’s air bag deployed.
Officers with La Follette Police counted off a total of six vehicles, three parked, involved in the wreck at JR’s. A couple of people were being treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Byrge was transported to the Campbell County Jail. He was given a field sobriety test and charged with DUI, leaving the scene of the accident, violation of implied consent, violation of the due care law and violation of the Tennessee Financial law. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 07/15/2020-6AM)