ELIZABETHTON, TN : Michigan man killed in crash on Sunday, January, 7th 2018

A Johnson City man faces charges in a fatal Sunday morning crash in Carter County.Robert L. Warner, 44, Byron, Michigan, was killed when a 1997 Ford Crown Victoria he was riding in left Okolona Road (Tenn. Highway 359) and crashed into several trees at 4:30 a.m. Driver Taylor Blaine Wright, 28, 146 Hidden Oaks Drive, Johnson City, was charged with vehicular homicide.

Trooper Ryan O. Brackett of the Tennessee Highway Patrol reported Wright was driving south on the road and crossed into the opposite lane while taking a curve. Brackett said the car left the highway and struck trees at the roadside.

The trooper said Warner was dead and still inside the vehicle when he arrived on the scene.

Brackett spoke with Wright inside a Carter County Rescue Squad ambulance and said there was an odor of alcohol in the interior of the ambulance. The officer asked Wright to perform field sobriety tests that did not require Wright to be mobile and said Wright consented to give a blood sample.

Wright was arrested after he was released by the Johnson City Medical Center and charged with vehicular homicide, failure to yield right of way and failure to exercise due care.

Wright appeared in General Sessions Court on Monday where Judge Keith Bowers Jr. appointed a public defender for him. He also set his bond at $25,000. Wright's next court appearance is set for Jan. 16.

Source :
Michigan man killed in Sunday morning crash; driver charged