A man who ran from the law, crashed through a fence, and flipped his car was airlifted to Erlanger Medical Center on Thursday night.
McMinnville resident Paul Edward Knight Jr., 41, faces three charges for the incident which began on Hennessee Bridge Road and ended when he crashed on Jessie Road, which is off Francis Ferry Road.
“He made the statement he didn’t want to go back to prison as the reason he was running,” said Sheriff Jackie Matheny. “But there were no drugs in the car and no warrants for his arrest so we don’t know what had happened to make him think he would go back to prison. If he didn’t run, we probably wouldn’t have even tried to stop him.”
The incident began at the Happy Camper, a campground off Hennessee Bridge Road when Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Kelly Carter responded to a call of suspicious activity in the area. When he arrived, Carter noticed a gray car following a Gator-type of off-road vehicle.
The driver of the car turned his head when passing the officer in an apparent attempt not to be identified. He further caught the attention of the officer by driving erratically.
As Sgt. Carter began to follow the car, Knight did several peculiar maneuvers, including spinning his tires, slamming his brakes, and at one point driving toward the deputy.
Carter then tried to initiate a traffic stop, but the suspect refused to pull over. He eventually turned from Francis Ferry Road onto Jessie Road.
The suspect was able to pull away from the officer and momentarily leave his sight on Jessie Road, but that didn’t last long. Carter soon came upon the vehicle on its roof just off the right side of the road.
Knight was trapped inside and had to be freed by emergency responders. He was airlifted from a nearby field. He faces charges of driving on a suspended license, evading arrest and reckless driving.