September 02, 2011

Tenn. trooper killed in motorcycle wreck

Trooper Joe Snipes was riding a motorcycle with his wife

Chattanooga Times Free Press

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — A 47-year-old Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper died in an off-duty crash Thursday off APD 40 in Cleveland, Tennessee Highway Patrol spokeswoman Dalya Qualls said.

The man, Trooper Joe Snipes, was riding a motorcycle with his wife when his motorcycle and a county utility truck crashed on Pleasant Grove Road near the Premiere Theaters, authorities said.

The call reporting the crash came in to Bradley County dispatch at 4:45 p.m., Bradley County Sheriff's Office spokesman Bob Gault said.

Gault said Snipes's wife was airlifted to Erlanger hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries. The truck driver went to SkyRidge Medical Center for a check-up but did not appear to be injured, Gault said.

The truck driver, who was driving a Bradley County Road Department utility truck, was coming around a curve about 500 feet from the driver's final destination when the truck collided with the motorcycle.

Gault also said that the deputy who first responded to the crash had reported that there appeared to be heavy rain at the crash scene.

Gault said he did not know if Snipes and his wife were wearing helmets.

A tweet from the Bradley County Sheriff's Office expressed condolences.

"To our fallen Brother Officer, you will be missed!" read the tweet from Bradley County Sheriff's Office Twitter handle BCSO911.