The case was postponed until Sept. 29, 2006. Copy of the article from the Knoxville newspaper.

Driver of truck that hit cyclist is on medication for epilepsy

By ROBERT WILSON, rlwilson2594@msn.com
August 16, 2006


MARYVILLE - Jeffrey E. Roth may not have even known in the last few seconds of his life what was about to happen.
For him, it was just another 60-mile bicycle ride like those he had undertaken many times, on a road where the shoulder is 12 feet wide and clearly marked with "Bike Route" signs. The August sun was still high and relentless, combined with high humidity.

The police reports, in their detached and remote manner, tell how an extra-large pickup truck, rolling westward down a four-lane divided highway with a 65 mph speed limit, hit Roth and his bicycle from behind, costing him his life.

The police reports do not, however, reflect that the incident also cost a 7-year-old second-grader and her 5-year-old twin sisters their father. Or made a widow of a young mother.

Kathryn Roth, standing in a Blount County Justice Center hallway outside the courtroom Tuesday where the driver of the pickup truck was to face the court, finds the words hard to get out when asked how her daughters - the ones she refers to as "his girls" - are holding up.

Inside the courtroom, a continuance was issued in the preliminary hearing of Tommy L. Carroll, 46, of Friendsville, until Sept. 29 at 9 a.m. Carroll, who is free on $75,000 bond, is charged with criminal homicide in connection with Roth's Aug. 9 death on U.S. Highway 321 on the west end of Maryville.

The prime issue in the case is whether it is a tragic accident resulting from the medical impairment of the truck driver or from a disregard for the rights of a bicycler.

The incident has churned up unrest in the biking community, which turned out in force Sunday for a "Ride in Silence" to remember Roth, after which many of the 200 riders tied their black armbands on a road sign near the accident scene.

Before court Tuesday, a group of 10 riders rode from Cycology Bicycles in Maryville to the Justice Center to show their support for the Roth family and their desire for justice.

Defense attorney Billy Gribble, speaking on behalf of his client after leaving the courtroom, said Carroll is intensely regretful of what happened and offers his condolences to the Roth family.

The attorney said Carroll has epilepsy and has taken medication to prevent him from having a seizure for many years. Gribble said Carroll does not remember the accident and that it may be that the epilepsy is responsible for the tragedy.

Carroll, he said, has a valid driver's license.

Gribble, following the court date, acknowledged that his client hit Roth, then crossed the median, hit another truck and was stopped by a third motorist who used his truck to stop Carroll's.

But he said a legal distinction prevents that series of events from being considered "fleeing the scene of an accident," as has been alleged, if the accident was caused by a medical condition.

Kathryn Roth said she has been overwhelmed and gratified by the outpouring of "love and honor" from the bicycle community following her husband's death.

"He was just getting to know more bicyclers."

Gribble said the investigation into what happened is just beginning.