FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, November 4, 2016
Contact: Arriale Tabson
Mobile: 615-767-3242
Tennessee, North Carolina Secure Highway 64 during Halloween Weekend
Ronald and Shirley Singleton Speak on DUI Hit-And-Run that Killed 3-Year-Old Brady in 2008
POLK COUNTY – On Saturday, October 29, the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO), Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), Polk County Sheriff’s Office, and North Carolina State Highway Patrol partnered for Hands Across the Border, a multi-jurisdictional sobriety checkpoint to crack down on drunk driving during the Halloween weekend. The press event was held at 6:30 p.m. at Copper Basin High School. The sobriety checkpoint was held from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Highway 64.
During the press event, Polk County residents Ronald and Shirley Singleton spoke publicly for the first time to address the DUI hit-and-run crash from 2008 that killed their 3-year-old son, Brady, in Cherokee County, North Carolina. To view the full press event video footage, visit https://youtu.be/uaqFaXnsiUM. Press event photos and Hands Across the Border checkpoint photos are available at https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipORUPXJE47VDnDo0H08KCK_grz164Zk9PZi4mvbe0ycvfTuVTyAp-REgi6gA70MTQ?key=YlRlNXpTaGxMMTBpQlI0QkJKUTlUS05OZmJOSHlB. To access additional content, visit tntrafficsafet.org/social.
The Hands Across the Border sobriety checkpoint was held at the Tennessee/North Carolina state line of Highway 64. Tennessee Highway Patrol and local Tennessee law enforcement partners checked a total of 340 vehicles. Eight citations were administered, four of which were child restraint citations. One driver was arrested for an outstanding warrant.
North Carolina State Highway Patrol checked vehicles on Highway 64 exiting North Carolina to enter Tennessee. Troopers administered 14 citations, including four driver’s license violations, one child restraint citation, one seat belt violation, three registration violations, two insurance violations, one open container citation, and two equipment violations.
According to the TITAN Division, a total of 1,630 traffic crashes occurred statewide during Halloween weekend in 2016 (Friday, October 28, to Monday, October 31). Nine of those crashes were fatal, 52 were alcohol-related, and 14 involved pedestrians. This time last year, there were 1,805 total traffic crashes. Eight of which were fatal, 89 were alcohol-related, and five involved pedestrians.
In Polk County, zero traffic crashes occurred during Halloween weekend this year. This time last year, five total crashes occurred; however, zero crashes involved fatalities, alcohol, or pedestrians.
In Hamilton County, 93 total traffic crashes occurred during Halloween weekend this year. None of which were fatal. However, one crash involved alcohol, and one crash involved a pedestrian. This time last year, there were 134 total traffic crashes, zero fatalities, four alcohol-related crashes, and one pedestrian-involved crash.
For more information, contact Arriale Tabson at 615-767-3242 or arriale.tabson@tn.gov.
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The Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) is a division of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security advocating for traffic safety. THSO works in tandem with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to implement statewide programs addressing occupant protection, impaired driving, speed enforcement, pedestrian and bicycle safety, and crash data collection and analysis. Programs administered by THSO are 100 percent federally funded. THSO’s mission is to effectively develop, implement, and evaluate these programs. To learn more about THSO, please visit www.tntrafficsafety.org.