Saturday, September 10, 2011

Dickson, TN: Domestic dispute leads to police chase, deadly crash

A domestic dispute led to a police chase and a deadly crash at 8:15 a.m. on N. Hummingbird Lane on Saturday.

After an altercation at his ex-girlfriend’s house, Dickson County Sheriff's Office deputies chased Alfred W. Otey, 27, of Dickson, from Hwy. 49 in Charlotte to N. Hummingbird Lane in Dickson, county Chief Deputy Jerone Holt said.

Otey swerved to avoid spike strips set up by city of Dickson police and crashed into a fence and a tree near Vulcan Materials on N. Hummingbird Lane, according to authorities. He was dead at the scene. No other passengers were in the vehicle.

According to a Tennessee Highway Patrol report, Otey wasn’t wearing his seat belt. The THP is also conducting drug and alcohol tests.

Chase started after altercation
The suspect arrived at his ex-girlfriend’s house in Charlotte early Saturday morning and got into an altercation with her and her current boyfriend, Holt said.

According to deputies that worked the scene, the female claimed Otey hit her in the face, slammed her to the ground, and choked her almost to the point of passing out. She refused an ambulance, but a family member transported her to Horizon Medical Center for her injuries, Holt said.

Otey fled to his car when the female called the police.

The female told authorities Otey might have a gun, but Holt said that was never confirmed.

The 31-minute chase started on Highway 49 north of Charlotte when two deputies attempted to pull Otey over. Instead, Otey attempted to ram the deputy’s car and sped off, Holt said. The chase traveled south on Highway 48 to Jones Creek Road, then to N. Hummingbird Lane. That’s when Otey swerved to avoid the spike strips and lost control of his vehicle.

The city of Dickson police department had an active warrant out on Otey for violating probation at the time of his death. The warrant dated back to a case of driving on a suspended license in 2009. Otey was also charged with domestic assault in 2009.

Friends remember 'Roccy'
Otey was known to his friends as “Roccy” and even though he was from Nashville, he spent a lot of time in Dickson County, his friend Stacy Harvey said.

“He had a smile that could warm anyone’s heart. He was one of the very few I could consider a real friend,” Harvey said.

Harvey held a memorial service for Roccy at her house in Dickson on Sunday and roughly 20 people attended. A memorial page for Roccy on Facebook had more than 250 “likes.”

“He had a good heart...Everybody loved having him over here,” Harvey said. “I’ve never seen him get upset not once.”

Visitation for Roccy will be held today at 5 p.m., followed by a funeral service at 6:30 p.m. at Terrell Broady Funeral Home in Nashville

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