Pair with Outstanding Warrants Fled Officers, Crashed Stolen Vehicle

A traffic stop escalated Monday when a driver rammed a deputy’s cruiser, fled and then crashed on Veterans Boulevard in Sevierville.

According to the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy attempted a traffic stop of a suspicious black Ford truck that was displaying improper registration on Veteran’s Boulevard near the intersection of Middle Creek Road on Monday afternoon around 2 p.m. As the deputy attempted to exit his patrol vehicle, the driver of the Ford truck put the truck in reverse, violently rammed the front end of the patrol vehicle and then fled northbound on Veterans Boulevard.

While fleeing, a person in the truck called 911 and made threats to law enforcement, other vehicles.

A witness stated that the truck was traveling at a high rate of speed, swerved onto the median to avoid another vehicle, and that is when the truck flew through the air into the southbound lanes and rolled over near the intersection of Blanton Drive.

A man and woman in the truck were injured in the crash and transported to local hospitals, including at least one who was flown to University of Tennessee Medical Center by LifeStar.

The Sevierville Police Department responded to the scene to assist with traffic control as a detour was established to clear the scene. The Tennessee Highway Patrol responded to the scene and investigated the crash. Debris littered the southbound lanes of Veterans and the roadway remained closed until the scene was cleared at about 6 p.m.

Authorities identified the two suspects as 32-year-old David Allen Jackson, of Mount Carmel, Tenn., and 27-year-old Stephanie Renee Gillespie, of Elizabethton, Tenn.

Both Jackson and Gillespie had outstanding warrants from Sullivan and Washington Counties. The Ford truck was stolen from Sullivan County, Tenn.

Jackson has been released from the hospital and is currently in custody at the Sevier County Jail. He faces multiple felony charges to include aggravated assault, felony evading and reckless endangerment. 

All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.