Friday Pursuit Ends With Crash
By Debbie Gregory
A 30-year-old man faces numerous charges, after he led local authorities on a pursuit in Macon County, that ended with a crash on Highway 52 West.
The incident started in Red Boiling Springs around 11:30 a.m. on Friday, August 14, when Phillip Snow called the authorities and reported a reckless driver, who came through Hillwood in a black car with no back glass, at a high rate of speed and passed him in the turning lane. According to Snow, the driver stayed in the turning lane and then passed a car at Nestle’s on the double yellow line. Snow also stated that he called his wife, who was ahead of him, to warn her about the reckless driver, but she told her husband that he had already passed her on the shoulder of the road at Drapertown.
Deputy William Tuck and Deputy Tyler Gann attempted to make a traffic stop on the vehicle.
According to a report by Detective Jacob McClard, he was sitting at the entrance of the Macon County Sheriff’s Office and observed the suspect vehicle traveling west on Highway 52 East. He pursued the vehicle which got up to a speed of 115 mph, according to the department issued radar in his patrol unit.
Detective McClard stated that the vehicle passed multiple vehicles on the shoulder of the road as well as on a double yellow no passing zone. “As we approached the intersection of Hwy. 52 & RBS Road, the vehicle ran the red light, then ran the red light at the intersection of Hwy. 52 and Hwy. 10, as well as the stop sign at the intersection of Hwy. 52 and Ellington Drive – where the driver almost struck several other vehicles. The vehicle continued west bound through the intersection of Hwy. 52 and Old Hwy. 52.”
Deputy Bobby Jacoby attempted to stop the vehicle by turning on his emergency equipment and blocking his lane of travel, but the vehicle went around him.
The report states that Sgt. Kyle Petty tried to block the car when it attempted to turn onto Old Hwy. 52, at which time the driver lost control, then spun around in the grass. At this point, the detective pulled in front of the vehicle and he recognized Tory Mote as the driver. As Mote attempted to pull out of the grass and get back on the road he crashed into Sgt. Petty’s patrol vehicle, and his car traveled down an embankment, went through a fence, and into a field.
Mote continued to evade officers by bailing out of the car and hiding in a barn. He was apprehended within minutes and placed into custody.
The license plate didn’t match the vehicle and there was no insurance on it. Officers found a glass pipe in the car that contained a white substance inside. Mote admitted to being on methamphetamine and did test positive for it. He refused a blood draw.
According to a report by Trooper Tracy Donoho, who worked the wreck, Tory Mote was driving a 1995 2-door Lexus and Sgt. Petty’s damaged patrol unit was a 2015 Ford Explorer. Donoho stated that the Macon County Sheriff’s Department filed charges.
Tory Keith Mote, of Nashville, formerly of Macon County, was charged with resisting arrest, evading arrest by vehicle & by foot, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, license plate displayed wrong, aggravated vehicle assault, driving on revoked license, driving under the influence, financial responsibility violation, violation of implied consent law, vandalism, driving left of center, passing on the shoulder, speeding-115 mph in a 40 mph zone, possession of drug paraphernalia, and violation of probation.
Mote is being held in the Macon County Jail without bond.
Tory Mote was also arrested in Macon County in May of 2019, when a road rage incident led to the assault of a man on Wixtown Road. Mote was charged with assault.
