Civil lawsuit over deadly Blount County police chase dismissed
By: wate.com
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – A Blount County Circuit Court judge has ordered the plaintiff in a civil lawsuit filed against the sheriff’s office and a deputy involved in a 2015 pursuit that turned deadly to pay expenses that total more than $34,000.
The suit was filed by Carissa Hamilton after Joshua William Hamilton, 38, died after crashing his vehicle while fleeing from deputies on December 29, 2015. Deputies had been called to a home on Denton Hayes Road about a missing juvenile. While they were there, a truck stopped, the driver yelled at the deputies and then sped off.
Deputies recognized the driver as Joshua Hamilton because he had an active warrant for domestic assault. The sheriff’s office says he drove erratically at a high rate of speed, narrowly missing cars going in the other direction. Eventually, he lost control and crashed on Six Mile Road. A deputy tried to help him, but Joshua Hamilton did not regain consciousness. A 13-year-old boy who was also in the vehicle had only minor injuries.
