DUANE SHERRILL
Regional Editor
A three-county chase ended with a crash in Wartrace Monday afternoon after Coffee County Sheriff Chad Partin forced the car off the road.
“I tried multiple times to force the car off the road and was finally able to force it off the road in downtown Wartrace,” said Partin of ending the long chase that began in Bedford, ran through Moore and Coffee counties (including Tullahoma), and then back into Bedford. “I, along with Moore County, will be taking felony evading and reckless endangerment warrants.”
The driver, Steven L. Stith of Shelbyville, is already facing a litany of charges in Bedford alone, including counts of felony evading arrest, possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, speeding, and running a red light. He was also wanted for violation of probation out of Rutherford County.
According to the warrants against him, a Bedford officer attempted to stop the suspect on South Brittan Street for the red-light violation. However, the suspect would not stop and traveled down Highway 82.
The chase took them through Moore County, where Moore County units took over until the chase hit the Coffee County line. The pursuit then roared into Tullahoma, where the fugitive weaved through Monday afternoon traffic, prompting officers to scramble to protect the safety of the public.
According to Tullahoma Police Chief Chase Sons, Tullahoma authorities were alerted to the chase as it entered the area of Ledford Mill Road.
“Our involvement was blocking intersections due to heavy traffic,” the chief revealed, noting they would have tried a spike strip to disable the vehicle, but the notification came too late.
Once the suspect was captured, drugs were found in the vehicle along with a glass pipe. His passenger, Melissa Odea was hit with narcotics charges. Stith ended up being taken to the hospital, where he was checked out and then shipped to the Bedford County Jail.
He is set to appear in Bedford County General Sessions Court April 22 at 9 a.m.