Pilot in fatal crash identified and other news from around the Chattanooga area

Friday, January 1, 1904

Pilot in fatal crash identified

ATLANTA - A Florida man was at the controls of two-seater kit plane that crashed Friday at Treat Mountain Road in southern Polk County, near the Haralson County line, the local coroner said Sunday.

Coroner Lester Litesey said Ronald Murphy, 67, was flying from his home in Callahan, Fla., to a fly-in in Wisconsin when he crashed in a rural area about 70 miles northwest of Atlanta, near the Alabama state line.

Litesey said Murphy had no physical condition that would have contributed to the crash, and bad weather may have brought down the plane, an RV-4.

A spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said only one person was on board.


Couple marries in hospital

NASHVILLE - A Tennessee couple didn't let an unexpected trip to the hospital ruin their plans to get married.

Kristine Nepomuceno told WSMV-TV that she cried when doctors said they couldn't release her from the hospital in time for her nuptials Saturday afternoon.

But workers at St. Thomas Hospital told her if she wanted, she could use the on-site chapel for the ceremony.

So the couple moved the location of the ceremony, which was held just an hour late to accommodate the change.

The new bride says she's grateful to the hospital for making sure she's healthy and allowing her to have a "fairy-tale wedding."


I-40 east tunnel to close briefly

COVE CREEK, N.C. - Workers are shutting down a tunnel on Interstate 40 in the North Carolina mountains to inspect the structure.

The Department of Transportation says the first tunnel heading east will be closed from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. through Wednesday, with traffic sent along a service road near the tunnel. The tunnel will be closed again on July 29.

Workers will also inspect the other tunnels on I-40, but only one lane will be closed at a time. The DOT says inspections on the second eastbound I-40 tunnel will run July 29 through Aug. 1 and again on Aug. 5. Inspections on the lone westbound I-40 tunnel will be Aug. 7 and Aug 12 through Aug. 15.


Knox County to close market

KNOXVILLE - A year after a highly promoted opening, the Turkey Creek Public Market in West Knox County will close.

Virginia Adams, a spokeswoman for developer John Turley, told WATE-TV that the official closing date is July 29.

The 160,000-square foot market that boasted enough room to house 600 vendors and four restaurants opened last August to much fanfare. According to its website, vendors at the market were "mostly from East Tennessee small businesses."