East Ridge police have arrested a man in connection with crashing his car into an East Ridge business on Wednesday.
According to an affidavit of complaint, Bobby Allen Smith, 28, of a 12th Avenue address in Chattanooga, was charged with Leaving the Scene of an Accident after allegedly running his car into Elations in the 5800 block of Ringgold Road.
According to the affidavit, police were dispatched to the business after a person had called and said he saw an unknown man near the Chevrolet Corsica that stuck the southwest corner of the building. When police arrived the driver of the vehicle was nowhere to be found but the vehicle was still warm to the touch and had small amounts of blood on the interior.
The report states that while officers attempted to locate information tying the vehicle to its owner, one officer saw a blue plastic zip baggy containing suspected methamphetamine under the suspect’s cell phone. Officers in the area tried to locate the driver of the car, who a witness described as a male in a striped shirt who may be hurt.
One officer found a man in the 5700 block of Ringgold Road wearing a red striped shirt with a small abrasion on his face consistent with injuries from an air bag.
Smith, told police that he was in the vehicle but he wasn’t driving. The report states that Smith could not tell police who was driving the car.
An ambulance transported Smith to Erlanger Hospital after the man complained of chest pains. While at the hospital, Smith told investigators that he had done some meth the day before and had taken some Xanax earlier on Wednesday. When asked about driving the vehicle, he told police that he didn’t remember driving it but did remember hitting that “shack” after trying to apply the brakes of the car.
The report states that management of Elations left a copy of the security footage from the crash. Investigators watched the video and only saw one male walking from the crash. The man in the video matches a similar description of Smith.
_ 5611 Ringgold Rd.: Police were dispatched to Los Potros Mexican Restaurant Wednesday night on a reported aggravated assault. According to an affidavit of complaint, the victim told police that he worked as a cook at the restaurant. He and a co-worker, Jose Natanael, had gotten into a verbal argument over an order placed by Nataneal. The victim said Natanael became aggressive and pushed him, causing him to fall onto the stove top causing serious injury by burning his left forearm and right hand. The report states that first responders treated the man for second-degree burns and he was taken by ambulance to Parkridge hospital for further treatment. Natanael was taken into custody for aggravated assault and was transported to the Hamilton County Jail. Natanael is due to appear in East Ridge Municipal Court on May 17.
_ 3629 Ringgold Rd.: Police were dispatched to the Cascades Motel on May 1 on a reported assault. According to an affidavit of complaint, the male victim told officers that Tiffany Leighann Lowrance forced her way into his room and assaulted him. The report states that the responding officer could still hear the pair arguing when he arrived. After interviewing both parties, it was determined that Lowrance assaulted the victim by pushing him. The report states that the officer saw red marks behind the victim’s left ear consistent with a struggle. Lowarnce, the report states, admitted to forcefully gaining entry in to the room even though she knew she was not wanted there. Lowrance was taken into custody and charged with Aggravated Burglary and Domestic Assault. She is due to appear in Municipal Court on May 10.
