Fiery crash on I-75 kills man and other news from areas around Chattanooga

Fiery crash on I-75 kills man

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - A man died Thursday night when his car left I-75, striking a tree and then bursting into flames, Bradley County EMS announced in a release.

EMS spokesperson Stan Clark said the single-vehicle crash occurred at mile marker 34 and involved a Toyota Camry.

Emergency crews found the fire was too hot to allow them to approach when they arrived on the scene.

Bradley County Fire and Rescue, however, subdued the fire.

The driver, the sole occupant of the vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene.

"We thought we were going to make it through the Thanksgiving holiday without any traffic fatalities," Clark said. The holiday season is so unpredictable, but historically it seems like we always respond to at least one bad accident"


Maryville getting new bat home

MARYVILLE, Tenn. - Maryville College is creating a new home for a colony of up to 2,000 brown bats that occupy the school's 143-year-old bell tower.

The Daily Times of Maryville reports that the school has built 10 bat boxes that can house 30 bats each. The boxes are located 20-foot posts in the campus orchards. Officials also plan to install a "bat condo" housing thousands of bats by February, the month before the colony comes out of hibernation.

Biology professor David Unger said the bat relocation is being conducted under the principle that "we can all live together."

The bat habitats will also become the subject of study. Unger says students will be able to research to the bats' echoes and determine which structures they prefer.


Hunting season opens at Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area

GOLDEN POND, Ky. - Hunting season is open at Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area for small game starting Sunday.

Hunters ages 16 and older need an LBL hunter use permit and an appropriate state license and are required to observe LBL rules and applicable state laws regarding hunting zones and safety precautions.

The LBL small game and waterfowl hunting information sheet is available online at http://www.lbl.org/Hunting.html and contains details of specific small game hunting season dates, bag limits and other information. The sheet is also available at the Golden Pond Visitor Center year-round or by calling (800) 525-7077 or (270) 924-2000.

Land Between The Lakes says small game hunters who hunt with dogs should also review the information included in the same publication on LBL's mid-January trapping season.


City of Macon sued over runway

MACON, Ga. - An insurance company is suing the City of Macon, claiming that a corporate jet crashed because the city improperly built the runway it landed on.

The Telegraph of Macon reported Thursday that Old Republican Insurance Co. is suing the city for $1 million that it paid to the owner of a jet that crashed during a landing on Sept. 18, 2012.

The suit says the runway was shorter and narrower than advertised, and was built in a way that allowed rainwater to pool along the pavement.

Macon officials haven't been served with a copy of the suit yet, but Interim City Attorney Judd T. Drake says officials will respond "to protect the city's interests."

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