A motorist who crossed the center line this past June on Highway 75 in Blountville, striking another vehicle head-on and killing a retired Tennessee Highway Patrolman, was allegedly high on marijuana and in possession of pills.
Jaime Nicole Marissa McClain, 20, of 249 Hawley Road, Blountville, was indicted Tuesday by a Sullivan County grand jury on multiple charges, including vehicular homicide and reckless aggravated assault. She turned herself in Thursday at the Sullivan County jail in Blountville, posted $67,500 bond and was released.
The crash occurred June 25 at approximately 6:40 p.m. Retired THP Trooper Barry Myers, 62, was a passenger in a 1999 GMC truck traveling westbound on Highway 75.
The Tennessee Department of Safety reported an eastbound 1996 Pontiac Grand Am, driven by McClain, crossed the center line and collided head-on with the truck. Myers was transported to Holston Valley Medical Center where he died the next day.
The driver of the vehicle he occupied, Brian M Myers, 23, of Blountville, incurred minor injuries, leading to a charge of reckless aggravated assault against McClain.
According to the presentment records, she was under the influence of marijuana when the crash occurred, depriving her of the, "clearness of mind and control of herself which she would otherwise have possessed." That prompted grand jury indictments for DUI and possession of marijuana. She was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.
The grand jury also found McClain to be in unlawful possession of three types of pills — alprazolam, temazepam and dihydrocodeinone — prompting additional charges of drug possession. A count of failure to drive on the right side of the roadway was also placed against her.