KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – Street racing has caused multiple fatal crashes in East Tennessee and across the state in recent years, causing lawmakers to stiffen penalties for dangerous drivers. One man was killed and two children were seriously injured in a crash on Tuesday that Knoxville police said was the result of drag racing.
Tra’Shawn Glass, 20, and Trinity Clark, 21, face felony reckless endangerment and drag racing charges after the three-car collision on E. Magnolia Avenue in Knoxville.
Last year, Holden Jeffrey Melton of Wartburg was sentenced to 60 days in jail and four years on supervised probation for reckless vehicular homicide and several other charges. He was 19 when the car he drove ran off the road and into a tree in Harriman, killing two and injuring a third passenger. Indictments claimed he was drag racing at the time of the 2019 crash.
In 2015, 41-year-old motorcyclist Darren Murphy of Kodak died on US 129, commonly known as “The Dragon,” when his motorcycle hit a tree. A witness told Tennessee Highway Patrol that Murphy and another motorcyclist were drag racing at the time.
Tony Gibson, 40, died in a crash stemming from a drag race in July 2010 on Highway 160 outside of Morristown.
John Khashaba, 18, and Aaron Hardwick, 17, were killed in a crash stemming from a drag race in Campbell County in May 2010. Mark Perkins, who was 19 at the time, pled guilty to vehicular homicide the following year. He was sentenced to serve nine years of supervised probation.
In 2021, Tennessee lawmakers passed a law upgrading drag racing charges from a Class B misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor. Class A misdemeanors are punishable by up to a year in prison.
Lawmakers also added a new misdemeanor charge for aggravated reckless driving in 2022.
