Here’s a look at this week’s top stories
Now, it’s time to look at the top stories for this week.
There has been a lot going on this week in West Tennessee…from a tragic drowning to a local Super Bowl Champion being honored, here are your top stories.
Scott Day, 64, a disabled veteran drowned Friday night in Saltillo after driving down Saltillo’s Main Street and straight into the river. The Hardin county emergency 911 call log showed that Day called 911 himself to plead for help before drowning.
The call came in at 9:50 pm, and the 911 location system was able to accurately fix his location in the water at the end of the ramp, according to the call log. The log shows that the man was able to speak for about 15 seconds. The log comment says, “caller was saying, ‘help me. I’m in the river.’ and then lost service.”
Hardin County Fire Chief, Melvin Martin says there have been several accidents and deaths due to people driving their vehicles into the Tennessee River at the Saltillo boat ramp.
Jonathan Allen Kelly
TBI says 31-year-old Jonathan Allen Kelly, a former Perry County Sheriff’s deputy, was arrested.
A news release states that in December 2021, agents began investigating a complaint that Kelly sexually assaulted a female during a traffic stop. According to the TBI, agents developed information that Kelly indicated to the woman she would not be charged in exchange for engaging in sexual contact.
On February 22, TBI says the Perry County Grand Jury returned indictments charging Kelly with one count of Aggravated Rape and one count of Official Misconduct. Kelly was booked in the Perry County Jail on a $65,000 bond. Records indicate he has since been released on bond.
The City of Jackson held a ceremony to celebrate the career of Darryl Samuels as fire chief, while also celebrating the swearing in of the new
chief, Don Friddle.
Samuels enjoyed a long career of service to the public at the fire department. Thinking back on his career, Samuels said he is most proud of the upgrades and progress the department has made since he began working in 1975.
Along with his retirement, Samuels was also given a key to the city by Mayor Scott Conger. Friddle is taking over for Samuels. Friddle has more than 30 years of firefighting experience.
Around 10:30 Friday morning, there was a heavy wind threat generating up to 60 mile a hour winds.
There has been reports of damage all around West Tennessee. Trees falling on houses, cars, and in the middle of the street, power outages, roofs being destroyed, electric poles down, and more. Risk manager for Madison county, Mike Winslow says that damages are being examined and repaired throughout Jackson/Madison county.
Madison County Mayor A.J. Massey expresses that their main focuses are safety and restoring power.
Trey Smith was welcomed home by the City of Jackson and Mayor Scott Conger at a special event.
This follows Smith’s Super Bowl win with the Kansas City Chiefs. Smith is a 2017 graduate of the University School of Jackson, who was a5-star recruit and ranked #1 by ESPN. While at USJ, Smith received the Tennessee Titans Mr. Football Lineman of the Year for Division II-A in 2015 and 2016.
Smith is also a former football player at UT Knoxville, where he played all four years and received numerous awards.
And that is the top stories of this week. If you have any tips for any stories, you can contact us by sending an email at news@wbbjtv.com or you can call us at (731) 424-4515.
