As told by Detective Looney
Monday morning when the kids went out to catch the bus, this is what we found. Melissa heard something at 4:30, but you can't see anything from the front windows, because the garage blocks it. Needless to say, I called the Sheriff's office and filed an incident report and we thought that would be about it.
As you can see from the picture, it ripped off the front bumper and left all kinds of debris. I started collecting bits and pieces and by the time I was done, I had pieced together the entire front headlight lens and part of a bug deflector. Conveniently, the lens had the Ford emblem and a part number on it, so I was able to determine that it was a 1997-2003 F-150. I figured I would spend most of my week driving around looking for this truck.
Little did I know this "bozo" had wrecked two more times, less than a 1/2 mile from the house. When I left for work, I found two more wreck sites on the main road that leads to my subdivision. The next time he wrecked, he ran off the road and slid into a tree, which kept him from going into a small creek (ditch). He burnt rubber to get back out on the road and took off again. At the next curve he ran through a guard rail and did a nose dive across the creek into the creek bed. At this point, I was afraid that he was dead, but I knew that somebody had to know something.
I talked to a paramedic friend (who happens to live in my subdivision) and he told me that they had not been called out on this wreck, but he would ask around. I went to a house across the street from the final wreck site and they confirmed that there was a wreck there that morning about 4:30 and the cops were on the scene. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I found the rest of the bumper ( the jagged tear matched perfect to the piece in my yard), the front blinker lens, the rest of the bug deflector,and some other odds and ends --so I was pretty confident that it was the same truck.
So I pieced together all of these parts on my coffee table and called the deputy back out to the house Tuesday morning. Needless to say he was pretty impressed, but implied that it was circumstantial evidence--which I already knew. I told him to call about the accident report and he did and we found that it was a white, 2001 Ford F-150 --go figure. The truck was registered to someone in Knox County and he acted like there was nothing he could do, but he did give me the name and address--so you know what I did.
So I drive into South Knoxville to this house, hoping that I don't get shot, and luckily this guy's mom answers the door and I told her the whole story. You should have seen her shoulders sink. She knew about the bad wreck, but he hadn't said anything about the mailbox and the tree incident. The truck actually belonged to his older brother, so I was lucky to catch her at the brother's house. After talking to the mother I found that they live about 4 miles from my house. I showed her the bumper and some pictures and there was no denying it. She told me they would take care of it. Her 20-year old son had been at SuperBowl party 2 houses up from me (this house has a reputation for parties and under-age drinking) and he got up in the middle of the night and went on his rampage.
Law enforcement dropped the ball on this one. The kid admitted that he left my subdivision, but the deputy didn't backtrack to see if there was anything else to put in the report. The deputy wrote on the report that alcohol was present, but didn't do a sobriety test. I guess he thought that totaling his truck was bad enough and he released him to his parents. Not to mention I want to choke-slam the lady that lives up the road for allowing kids to drink. It took everything I had not to go to her front door.
Anyway, I've talked to the kid and his dad (who happens to be an insurance agent) and he asked me not to file it on my insurance --because they will come after his son. He said he will pay for the new mailbox and he is supposed to come out to the house Saturday. We'll see what happens. The lowest estimate I've gotten is $600. The mailbox was about 5 feet tall and 3 wide and deep. It was a monster--I asked the kid how he hit it and he doesn't remember. He was stupid drunk. As you know, it's always something. It made me a celebrity in the neighborhood for about a minute. --And a minute is alot for me these days!!
As you can see from the picture, it ripped off the front bumper and left all kinds of debris. I started collecting bits and pieces and by the time I was done, I had pieced together the entire front headlight lens and part of a bug deflector. Conveniently, the lens had the Ford emblem and a part number on it, so I was able to determine that it was a 1997-2003 F-150. I figured I would spend most of my week driving around looking for this truck.
Little did I know this "bozo" had wrecked two more times, less than a 1/2 mile from the house. When I left for work, I found two more wreck sites on the main road that leads to my subdivision. The next time he wrecked, he ran off the road and slid into a tree, which kept him from going into a small creek (ditch). He burnt rubber to get back out on the road and took off again. At the next curve he ran through a guard rail and did a nose dive across the creek into the creek bed. At this point, I was afraid that he was dead, but I knew that somebody had to know something.
I talked to a paramedic friend (who happens to live in my subdivision) and he told me that they had not been called out on this wreck, but he would ask around. I went to a house across the street from the final wreck site and they confirmed that there was a wreck there that morning about 4:30 and the cops were on the scene. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I found the rest of the bumper ( the jagged tear matched perfect to the piece in my yard), the front blinker lens, the rest of the bug deflector,and some other odds and ends --so I was pretty confident that it was the same truck.
So I pieced together all of these parts on my coffee table and called the deputy back out to the house Tuesday morning. Needless to say he was pretty impressed, but implied that it was circumstantial evidence--which I already knew. I told him to call about the accident report and he did and we found that it was a white, 2001 Ford F-150 --go figure. The truck was registered to someone in Knox County and he acted like there was nothing he could do, but he did give me the name and address--so you know what I did.
So I drive into South Knoxville to this house, hoping that I don't get shot, and luckily this guy's mom answers the door and I told her the whole story. You should have seen her shoulders sink. She knew about the bad wreck, but he hadn't said anything about the mailbox and the tree incident. The truck actually belonged to his older brother, so I was lucky to catch her at the brother's house. After talking to the mother I found that they live about 4 miles from my house. I showed her the bumper and some pictures and there was no denying it. She told me they would take care of it. Her 20-year old son had been at SuperBowl party 2 houses up from me (this house has a reputation for parties and under-age drinking) and he got up in the middle of the night and went on his rampage.
Law enforcement dropped the ball on this one. The kid admitted that he left my subdivision, but the deputy didn't backtrack to see if there was anything else to put in the report. The deputy wrote on the report that alcohol was present, but didn't do a sobriety test. I guess he thought that totaling his truck was bad enough and he released him to his parents. Not to mention I want to choke-slam the lady that lives up the road for allowing kids to drink. It took everything I had not to go to her front door.
Anyway, I've talked to the kid and his dad (who happens to be an insurance agent) and he asked me not to file it on my insurance --because they will come after his son. He said he will pay for the new mailbox and he is supposed to come out to the house Saturday. We'll see what happens. The lowest estimate I've gotten is $600. The mailbox was about 5 feet tall and 3 wide and deep. It was a monster--I asked the kid how he hit it and he doesn't remember. He was stupid drunk. As you know, it's always something. It made me a celebrity in the neighborhood for about a minute. --And a minute is alot for me these days!!
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