Police say man left injured friends in car
A local man faces evading arrest charges after he allegedly left his injured friends in his wrecked car and then tried to get another person to take responsibility for the crash.
The suspect, Ronnie Keaton, is charged with evading arrest, leaving the scene of an accident and driving on a revoked license in reference to a crash over the weekend on Garfield Street.
According to police reports, a car was found wrecked near a fence by McMinnville Civic Center around 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Inside were David Sandlin and Johnny Walker, both suffering from injuries sustained in the crash. There was no driver present. Both victims were taken to the hospital for treatment with Sandlin shipped on to Vanderbilt Hospital for additional treatment.
An investigation of the scene revealed the vehicle had slid 210 feet on Garfield Street before striking a pole and then had traveled 189 more feet before coming to rest against a fence.
During questioning before being taken to the hospital, the victims reportedly told officers Keaton was the driver of the car. They also said they had been lying injured in the wrecked car for about 20 minutes before it was discovered. However, while still working on the accident, police were approached by Twana Martin, who maintained she was the driver of the vehicle.
Doubting her story, police questioned her further at which time she reportedly admitted she had been told by Keaton to take responsibility for the accident.
Martin was not charged because she stopped short of signing a statement claiming she was the driver.