Police Report
Crash slows traffic on I-40 in Memphis area
Workers were still clearing wreckage from a major crash on eastbound Interstate 40 near Covington Pike in northeast Shelby County, Tennessee Department of Transportation spokeswoman B. J. Doughty said shortly after 9 p.m.
The TDOT web site said one lane of traffic was open in each direction, and Doughty said she’d received a report that the traffic backup was minimal.
The crash was reported shortly after 6 p.m., and earlier in the evening, officials had said traffic was blocked in both directions on I-40, a major highway that connects Memphis to the rest of the country.
“This crash involved 6 vehicles. A tractor trailer overturned and is leaking fluid,” Memphis police spokesman Louis C. Brownlee wrote in an email earlier in the evening. He said no one was injured.
Girl injured in hit-and-run near airport
A girl was struck by a hit-and-run driver in the area of Raines and Millbranch near Memphis International Airport on Friday afternoon and brought to LeBonheur Children’s Hospital in critical condition, Memphis police spokesman Louis Brownlee said in a statement.
The vehicle was described by police as a black Ford Mustang.
Man charged with robbing 2 postal workers
A federal grand jury this week indicted a man on charges of robbing two postal workers.
Jamal Cherry, 20, is charged with robbing a letter carrier Nov. 21 with a semiautomatic handgun in the area of Baltic Street and Summer Avenue as she put a mail satchel into her postal truck.
Postal inspectors found surveillance video that captured a suspect fleeing in a blue 2005 Toyota Matrix, according to the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. At Cherry’s residence, law enforcement discovered a red Toyota Matrix that appeared to have been repainted.
Cherry is also charged with the armed robbery of a second letter carrier on Dec. 2.
Man shot to death in South Memphis
A man was shot to death Thursday night in South Memphis and police are searching for suspects in his death.
Around 10:30 p.m., police were called to Mallory Avenue and Latham after a man with multiple gunshot wounds was found next to a 2001 Buick Park Avenue.
The man was pronounced dead on the scene.
No arrests have been made. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-2274.
There have now been 6 fatalities on Memphis roadways in 2017
A man was hit and killed on I-240 and Mt. Moriah Thursday night.
Police responded to the call shortly after 9:30 p.m.
The pedestrian, who has not been identified by police, was pronounced dead on the scene.
Police said the driver told police that she saw a man jumping back and forth between traffic lanes and dodging cars on the interstate.
The woman said she swerved to avoid hitting the man, but he jumped in front of her car. The woman stayed on the scene and no charges will be filed, police said.
This is the sixth person killed on roadways in Memphis this year. Last year, 33 pedestrians were killed in fatal crashes in Memphis.
Teen suspected in reported kidnapping in East Memphis
Memphis police have identified a 17-year-old as the suspect in the kidnapping of a couple Thursday in East Memphis.
The Commercial Appeal doesn’t identify juvenile criminal suspects in most cases. Police are also looking for a second suspect, according to a posting on the Memphis Police Facebook page.
Police said a woman came to Raines Station precinct where she told officers that she and her husband were kidnapped by two men from the 4200 block of New Willow Road.
She told investigators that they were forced into a white Chervolet pickup truck with a camper on the back.
The woman said she was sexually assaulted and was able to escape, but her husband remains missing. She told police that she and her husband know one of the men who allegedly kidnapped them.
Memphis police issued a Citywatch alert for the woman’s missing husband, identified by police as 39-year-old Louis Santiago.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 901-545-2677.
Staff reporter Daniel Connolly contributed to this story.
Two teens shot in Walmart parking lot
Two teenagers are recovering after they were shot while sitting in a car outside a Hickory Hill Walmart Thursday night.
Police responded to a shooting call at 11:43 p.m. at the Walmart Neighborhood Market at 6990 Shelby Drive near Riverdale.
An 18-year-old told police that he pulled into the parking lot of the Walmart after his 2003 Chevrolet Monte Carlo overheated. He said he and four others were waiting in the car when two men got out of a sliver car and opened fire.
A 14-year-old and and 18-year-old were injured. The driver and two others in the car were not injured.
The victims drove to a nearby fire station for help. They were taken to Regional Medical Center and LeBonheur Children’s Hospital and were reported to be in non-critical condition.
No arrests have been made as police continue the investigation.