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Anna Grace Pearson

Age : 22

Gender : Female

Race : White

Date : 12/04/2021

Location : 3300 W. Market Street

City : Johnson City

County : Washington

State : Tennessee

Agency : Tusculum Police Department

Officer(s) :Chief Danny Greene; initiating officer Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON WHY PURSUIT WAS INITIATED:
A Tusculum Police officer was conducting another traffic stop when a vehicle passed the officer at approximately 104 mph. The officer activated emergency lights and siren and initiated the pursuit.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 12/04/2021, shortly after midnight, a Tusculum Police officer was conducting a traffic stop when another vehicle passed at approximately 104 mph. The officer initiated a high-speed pursuit, and Tusculum Police Chief Danny Greene subsequently joined it. Police continued the chase approximately 22 miles from Tusculum through Greene County and into Johnson City.
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The pursuit continued into the West Market Street corridor in Johnson City. At approximately the 3300 block of West Market Street, the fleeing vehicle struck the rear of a 2012 Scion hatchback driven by 22-year-old Anna Grace Pearson at high speed. The impact forced Pearson's vehicle off the roadway and into a ditch. Pearson died at the scene. The fleeing vehicle continued onto Hopper Road before coming to a stop.
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The fatal crash drew later scrutiny because police had continued an approximately 22-mile pursuit that began solely after the vehicle passed an officer at 104 mph. In a February 2022 WJHL investigation, two police-pursuit experts said the chase should not have occurred or should have been terminated before reaching Johnson City.
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Pearson had graduated from East Tennessee State University in May 2021 with a degree in Media and Communication. Friends remembered her as a singer-songwriter and musician with significant creative ambitions.
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TOTAL FATALITIES/INJURIES:
1 Fatality, 1 Injury.
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EYEWITNESS OR FAMILY STATEMENTS:
Pearson's family and friends questioned why police continued a high-speed pursuit for approximately 22 miles when the vehicle could potentially have been identified and apprehended later. WJHL's subsequent investigation examined the pursuit as an example of the danger created for completely uninvolved motorists when police continue high-speed chases over long distances.
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DISPOSITION:
The fleeing driver, Christian Morrow, later pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in Washington County and was sentenced to six years in prison.
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No criminal charges against Chief Danny Greene or the unidentified Tusculum officer for their roles in initiating and continuing the approximately 22-mile pursuit were located. The available public reporting does not document a disciplinary finding against either officer despite later expert criticism of the decision to continue the chase.
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LITIGATION:
None found.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Tusculum Police Chief Danny Greene participated in the pursuit. The department did not publicly identify the officer who initially began the pursuit.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.wjhl.com/news/investigations/a-rising-star-threatening-to-eclipse-the-sun-friends-remember-police-pursuit-victim/
https://pursuitforchange.org/voices-of-victims/cost-of-the-chase-an-examination-of-police-pursuits/
https://wcyb.com/news/local/thp-driver-of-vehicle-fleeing-from-tusculum-pd-crashes-into-another-vehicle-woman-killed
https://fatalencounters.org/view/person/victim/f7dd101b/
https://wgrv.com/mosheim-man-pleads-guilty-in-2021-fatal-wreck/
https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=commencement