UPDATE: Tommie Eugene Harris told East Ridge Police Department investigators that he was the man driving the pickup truck that struck and severely injured a motorcyclist on New Years Eve, according to a department press release. Charges are pending against Harris.
UPDATE: East Ridge police report at 1:25 p.m. on Thursday that officers located the suspect vehicle at a residential apartment complex within East Ridge, and are currently working to determine who was operating the truck at the time of the crash with the motorcycle.
An ERPD official said that the investigators received numerous tips concerning the vehicle, leading them to locales from Hixson to Lafayette, Georgia.
East Ridge News Online will update this story when more information becomes available.
The East Ridge Police Department is asking for the public’s help in finding the driver of a pickup truck involved in a hit-and-run incident on New Year’s Eve.
According to a department press release, a red pickup truck struck a motorcyclist at about 9 p.m. in the 6400 Block of Ringgold Road and fled. The motorcyclist sustained serious traumatic injuries. According to our friends at NewsChannel9, the motorcyclist, identified as Jeffrey Stiner, underwent surgery to remove one of his legs.
Officers were able to collect a Ford front plate with a United States Marine Corps plate frame from the scene.
Police said that the red truck fled the area through the parking lot of McDonald’s, South on N. Smith St., and then West on Ringgold Rd. The truck has been reported as having gone North on Mcbrien Rd. and also possibly Spring Creek.
The vehicle had/has front end damage and also a lowered, possibly hanging passenger side headlight.
The investigation is still ongoing. If anyone has any information, they are encouraged to contact the East Ridge Police Department Dispatch at (423) 622-1725 or Office at (423) 867-3720.
