DUNLAP, Tenn. -- A Sequatchie County deputy and a Dunlap police officer are recovering from injuries received in a two-county chase that landed four Soddy-Daisy men in jail.
Ozzy Lee Odom, 20; Randy Paul Mahan, 18; and two juveniles were taken into custody Tuesday after their car slammed into a parked police cruiser near the intersection of U.S. Highway 127 and East Valley Road, Sequatchie County Sheriff Ronnie Hitchcock said.
That ended a chase that began in Soddy-Daisy when a motorist fled from authorities, the sheriff said. A deputy stopped the car about 6 p.m. CDT on state Highway 111, the sheriff said, but as he approached, the driver sped off.
The chase went down the Sequatchie side of Walden's Ridge onto East Valley Road and south toward U.S. 127 at the foot of Signal Mountain, he said.
Sequatchie Deputy Marlin Hobbs was waiting with a spike strip at the intersection. When the driver saw the deputy throw the strip onto the road, he swerved and hit Deputy Hobbs' patrol car. The impact spun the patrol car into the deputy and knocked him into a stop sign, the sheriff said.
Deputy Hobbs has a broken food and bruises, Sheriff Hitchcock said.
Dunlap police officer Brian Lockhart was injured when he tried to stop the driver and three passengers from running away from the crash, he said.
Sequatchie authorities charged the 17-year-old driver with theft over $10,000, aggravated assault on an officer, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, attempted first-degree murder of an officer, evading arrest, felony evading arrest, destruction of government property and criminal impersonation.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol charged him with DUI, leaving the scene of an accident, three counts of reckless endangerment, driving without a license, no seat belt and failing to render aid and due care, jail officials said.
The 16-year-old and two adults face charges of attempted first-degree murder of an officer, evading arrest and resisting arrest, officials said.
Soddy-Daisy authorities did not return calls requesting comment, but Sequatchie authorities said the four could face similar charges there.
Ben Benton is a news reporter at the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He covers Southeast Tennessee and previously covered North Georgia education. Ben has worked at the Times Free Press since November 2005, first covering Bledsoe and Sequatchie counties and later adding Marion, Grundy and other counties in the northern and western edges of the region to his coverage. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Tenn., a graduate of Bradley Central High School. Benton ...
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