One year later, community and
sheriff's deputies gather to remember Sgt. Chris Jenkins
Sgt.
Jenkins was killed on February 3, 2022, after a truck driver hit him
as he was trying to remove a ladder from I-75.
LOUDON COUNTY, Tenn. —
WBIR.com- A year after his death, the Loudon County
Sheriff's Office held a memorial service to honor fallen
Sgt. Chris Jenkins.
On February 2, 2022,
Sgt. Jenkins set up a rolling roadblock to remove a ladder
from I-75. Christopher Savannah, a truck driver, who
prosecutors said was high on marijuana at the time, hit and
killed Jenkins.
Loudon County Sheriff Jimmy Davis was a chief deputy at
the time of the crash. Davis said he responded to the
scene on I-75.
"Seeing anybody deceased is difficult," Davis said. "When it's a friend, it's difficult. When it's a brother, when you've had several moments over his career and your career together, it's very difficult." The sheriff spoke at the memorial service and honored Jenkins' family with a wreath in front of the sheriff's office's FOP Memorial Wall. Each member of Jenkins' family got a flower from the wreath. Both Davis and Chief Deputy Zac Frye remembered Jenkins for the humor he brought to the office every day. "He would imitate people," Davis said. "He took it to a different level." "Every morning, when Chris came in, he had some sort of joke or some sort of light-hearted way to get the guys ready for work," Frye said. Davis said Jenkins loved his community. He was born and raised in Loudon County, and spent his entire career working in the county, the sheriff said. In August, a grand jury indicted Savannah on one count of vehicular homicide by intoxication, one count of vehicular homicide by recklessness, one count of driving under the influence, and three counts of felony reckless endangerment among several other charges. Records showed Savannah did not have an active commercial driver's license at the time of the crash after it was suspended for a previous positive marijuana test.
Savannah is due back in court in March. He is set to
face trial in May 2023.
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2/6/23