A Powell High School student was struck by a car while crossing Emory Road on the way to school Monday morning, and the driver took off without stopping, according to the Knox County Sheriff's Office. The student was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and deputies are now asking the public for help tracking down the vehicle.
According to WBIR, KCSO Public Information Officer Justin Pratt said the collision happened around 7:51 a.m. near the school, which sits on the 2100 block of West Emory Road, as reported by WATE. A separate account from WVLT places the crash around 8 a.m., so the exact timing remains slightly unsettled even as the broader sequence of events is consistent across reports.
Pratt said the driver left the scene after striking the student, and Knox County Sheriff's Office deputies are now searching for the vehicle involved. The car is described as a newer-model Honda Civic carrying a temporary Kentucky tag, with WVLT's report specifying the plate number as E682487.
What Deputies Know About the Vehicle
Beyond the Civic's description and its temporary Kentucky tag, investigators have not released additional details about the driver or why they fled rather than stopping to check on the student. WBIR, which first reported the incident, described the story as developing and said it would be updated as more information becomes available.
The student was taken to the hospital with injuries that KCSO described as non-life-threatening, though no further details about the student's condition have been released. The sheriff's office is asking anyone with information about the vehicle or the driver to come forward; WVLT reports that tips can be directed to the sheriff's office at 865-215-2243 or 865-971-3900.
Pedestrian Safety Around Knox County
The crash adds to a running concern about pedestrian safety in the Knoxville area. A statewide crash-statistics report from the Tennessee Department of Safety indicates that more than 8,300 pedestrians were involved in crashes statewide between 2020 and 2024, though the full scope of that document's findings has not been independently reviewed here. Locally, the Knoxville Regional TPO maintains a map tracking fatal and serious-injury crashes, along with pedestrian and bicycle incidents, across the Knoxville region over the past five years.
West Emory Road itself has seen other serious wrecks. WBIR previously reported on a fatal two-car crash near Holgate Lane in Powell, which Rural Metro Fire said involved two vehicles. It is not established whether that wreck has any connection to Monday's hit-and-run, and the two incidents remain separate as far as available reporting shows.
For now, the search for the driver continues, and KCSO is relying on the public to help identify the Civic before the case goes cold. Anyone who may have seen the vehicle near Powell High School around the time of the crash is urged to contact investigators.
