26-02-2025
‘Today is a good day;' THP Trooper injured in 2024 crash while responding to tornado damage returns to duty
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper who was injured in a crash caused by a drunk driver while responding to tornado damage in April 2024 has returned to duty, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.
On April 3, 2024, THP Captain Stacey Heatherly was driving west on Highway 62 to respond to tornado damage in Morgan County when a pickup traveling east crossed the center line and struck Heatherly's vehicle head-on.
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On Wednesday, THP shared a video on social media, saying that Heatherly was officially back on duty.
'During these past – close to a year – I was not sure if I'd be able to put this uniform back on or not, so today is a pretty good day,' Heatherly said. 'Today is a good day for me, and I'm just grateful. I'm thankful to God that I'm still here and I'm still able to put this badge on.'
Heatherly shared that she will be returning to lead as the Captain the Knoxville District for THP.
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THP added that the crash was caused by a drunk driver. The video included dash cam video of the crash happening. On the video, Heatherly's SUV can be seen travelling around a curve when a truck pulling a trailer crosses the center line, hitting the SUV head-on.
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