KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — One person died and five were hurt Tuesday afternoon after a drag racing incident ended in a crash on Magnolia Avenue in East Knoxville.
The Knoxville Police Department responded to a multi-vehicle crash on Magnolia near Milligan Street about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday.
The crash involved an orange Dodge Charger, a red Dodge Charger and a white Ford Explorer. The Dodge Chargers were racing down Magnolia Avenue and ran a red light at Milligan Street, hitting the Explorer, according to KPD.
The driver of the Explorer, 65-year-old Michael Williams, was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center and pronounced dead, KPD said.
The two other occupants of the Explorer, an 11-year-old and a 5-year-old, were also taken to UTMC. As of Jan. 19, they remain in "critical but stable condition," police said.
All other people involved in the crash were taken to UTMC for injuries that are not expected to be life-threatening, according to KPD.
The orange Charger continued briefly after the collision and ran into an occupied building on East Magnolia Avenue. Nobody inside the building was hurt, KPD said.
Police found the drivers of the Chargers at the scene and identified them as 21-year-old Trinity Clark and 20-year-old Tra'Shawn Glass, KPD said.
Glass remains hospitalized and will be taken into police custody once he is released. Both are charged with felony reckless endangerment and drag racing. Additional charges are pending, KPD said.
Clark was out on bond as of Jan. 18, according to records from the Knox County Sheriff's Office.
Last year, Clark reached a $175,000 settlement with the city over a 2021 encounter with Knoxville Police Department Officer Joseph Roberts, her attorney said. In a separate case, Roberts ended up pleading guilty to a felony charge of tampering with governmental records and was put on diversion. He also left the department.
Authorities closed Magnolia after the crash but reopened it by 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Lawrence Williams, who works at Safe Haven Empowerment Center, said the orange Charger crashed into their building. Safe Haven is a nonprofit outreach center for young people.
"What I'm feeling right now, you know, I'm just shocked," Williams said. "What about the people who are staying here that ain't got nowhere else to go? Now what we got to do is put them up somewhere until we figure out what we are going to do about the Safe Haven."
"Prayers to the family," said Isaiah Young, a witness of the crash. "I turned around to the road and I saw these two, it was a red and an orange Charger speeding down the road."