A 24-year-old woman is dead, and the man accused of causing the crash that killed her is still missing after fleeing into the woods along Boyds Bridge Pike in East Knoxville. Knoxville police say 25-year-old Marlon Jiminez-Galo ran from the scene before officers arrived Tuesday night, and despite checking multiple known addresses overnight, they were unable to find him.
According to WATE 6 On Your Side, the crash happened near Boyds Bridge Pike and Andes Road when a black Dodge sedan traveling west lost control. A witness reported seeing a man run into nearby woods after the wreck. The woman riding in the sedan was found unresponsive at the scene and later pronounced dead soon after arriving at University of Tennessee Medical Center.
Excessive Speed and a Failed Pass
Preliminary investigation indicates the sedan was traveling at an excessive speed when Jiminez-Galo attempted to pass another vehicle, lost control, left the roadway, and struck two utility poles near Andes Road, per police. The route connects East Magnolia Avenue toward Holston River Park, a municipal park established in 1997 that carries local residential traffic through the area, according to the City of Knoxville.
Knoxville police say evidence at the scene suggests alcohol may have contributed to the crash. Jiminez-Galo now faces charges of vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of an accident, and driving without a license, though he has not been taken into custody and the charges remain allegations at this stage.
Overnight Search Comes Up Empty
Officers saturated the area and checked multiple potential addresses associated with Jiminez-Galo through the night following the crash but were unable to locate him before placing warrants on file, according to WIVK-FM. Knoxville Police Department operational guidelines call for an immediate in-person officer response whenever a crash involves death, injury, or a suspected impaired or unlicensed driver, even as the department has shifted minor, non-injury crash reports to an online system.
Anyone with information on Jiminez-Galo's whereabouts is asked to contact East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers, which can coordinate anonymous tips eligible for a cash reward. Tips can be submitted by phone at 877-363-8847, online at easttnvalleycrimestoppers.org, through the P3 Tips mobile app, or via the organization's Facebook page.
Tennessee's Tougher Penalties for Fatal Crashes
The charges Jiminez-Galo faces carry significant weight under Tennessee law. Vehicular homicide involving intoxication is a Class B felony punishable by 8 to 30 years in prison, while vehicular homicide based on reckless driving alone is a Class C felony carrying 3 to 15 years, according to the law firm Davis & Hoss — with the exact classification depending on whether prosecutors can establish intoxication or reckless conduct.
A state law that took effect on July 1, 2024, requires anyone convicted of vehicular homicide by intoxication to serve 100 percent of their sentence with no chance of probation or parole, according to Knox Crime Defense. Separately, under the James Bardsley, Jr. Life Protection Act, which took effect this past July, leaving the scene of a fatal accident is a Class E felony carrying a mandatory minimum of one year in confinement served at 100 percent, plus fines of up to $10,000, per Davis & Hoss.
A Downward Trend in Traffic Deaths
The Boyds Bridge Pike crash comes even as Knoxville has made notable progress on traffic safety. The city recorded 29 traffic fatalities within its limits in 2025, a nearly 45 percent drop from the 52 deaths logged in 2024 and the lowest annual total since 2020, according to the Knoxville Police Department. City leadership credited the decline to data-driven enforcement and the department's Vision Zero initiatives.
Still, KPD's own crash analysis for 2025 identified excessive speed, alcohol intoxication, driver inattention, and failure to maintain lane position as the leading contributing factors in fatal collisions citywide — the same combination preliminary reports point to in Tuesday night's crash. Hoodline has tracked a similar Knoxville case involving an impaired driver who fled the scene, part of a broader pattern of vehicular homicide prosecutions across the region in recent months.
As of now, Jiminez-Galo remains unaccounted for and the search continues. He has not been convicted of any crime, and the charges against him are allegations pending his arrest and prosecution.
