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Christopher Nathaniel Barnes

Age : 23

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 03/05/2021

Location : New Kimmins Road across from 821 New Kimmins Road

City : Hohenwald

County : Lewis

State : Tennessee

Agency : Hohenwald Police Department

Officer(s) :Officer Kalum Halfacre

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Passenger killed in police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON FOR CHASE: Hohenwald Police Department Officer Kalum Halfacre activated his emergency lights to make a traffic stop of the Chevrolet Tahoe on Lewis Street. The driver continued away from the attempted stop, and Halfacre followed the vehicle. The available reporting does not specify the original traffic violation that prompted Halfacre to initiate the stop.
NARRATIVE:
On 03/05/2021, 23-year-old Christopher Nathaniel Barnes of Hohenwald was killed when a Chevrolet Tahoe in which he was a passenger crashed during a Hohenwald Police Department pursuit in Lewis County, Tennessee.

At approximately 7:43 p.m., Hohenwald Police Officer Kalum Halfacre activated his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop of the Tahoe on Lewis Street. Kareena M. Allison, 28, was driving the vehicle. Allison continued away from the attempted stop, and Halfacre followed.

GPS data from Halfacre's patrol vehicle showed that he was traveling approximately 33 mph when he activated his emergency lights. During the ensuing 51 seconds, Halfacre reached a maximum speed of approximately 58 mph while keeping the Tahoe in sight.

Allison continued north on New Kimmins Road. Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Steve Karpati subsequently reported that Allison was traveling too fast for conditions when she lost control of the Tahoe.

The Tahoe left the roadway, struck two trees and traveled down an approximately 20-foot embankment, coming to rest in a deep ravine across from 821 New Kimmins Road. The crash occurred only 51 seconds after Halfacre activated his emergency lights.

Lewis County Fire and Rescue personnel entered the ravine to reach Allison and Barnes. Barnes was found dead in the crashed vehicle. Allison sustained critical injuries and was taken by ambulance to the helipad at Lewis Health Center before being flown by air ambulance for treatment. She subsequently survived and was released from the hospital.

Lewis County Coroner Dr. Lori Stewart and County Medical Examiner Dr. Joey Hensley responded to the crash scene and examined Barnes. The Tennessee Highway Patrol Critical Incident Response Team responded to reconstruct the fatal collision.

Police reported that Allison had outstanding warrants and a suspended driver's license. Those circumstances were documented after the crash; the publicly available account does not establish them as the reason Halfacre originally activated his emergency lights.

Barnes's obituary independently confirms that Christopher Nathaniel Barnes died in Lewis County on the evening of 03/05/2021. It gives his date of birth as 06/27/1997, making him 23 years old at the time of his death.

The 03/05/2021 Lewis County fatality documented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System corresponds with this independently documented fatal Hohenwald Police Department pursuit involving Christopher Nathaniel Barnes.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.lewisherald.com/story/2021/03/11/news/fatal-vehicle-crash/2140.html
https://www.lewisherald.com/story/2021/03/17/obituaries/christopher-barnes/2199.html
https://tngenweb.org/lewis/barnes-christopher-n/