Citing a misunderstanding in hit-&-run of FHS girl Aug. 8, Bittle pleads guilty
A guilty plea has been rendered more than five months after a Farragut High School girl was the victim of a hit-and-run in Thornton Heights Aug. 8, which resulted in injuries requiring hospitalization, as she was waiting for her school bus at the intersection of Thornton Drive and Hughlan Drive.
According to court documents, Harley Earnest Bittle III, 60, pled guilty and was charged with one count of reckless endangerment Tuesday, Jan 14.
Bittle was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation, with victim restitution to be handled, reportedly, as a civil case.
He reportedly told Knox County Sheriff Office deputies he saw what he thought was a blanket laying on the side of the road, claiming he wasn’t aware he had hit the girl.
This accident prompted a public meeting of roughly 30 Thornton Heights citizens Sept. 11, expressing concerns about subdivision vehicular speeding while motorists not living in this subdivision use its roads as a cut-through to avoid Kingston Pike traffic.
These citizens met with Town of Farragut Alderman Drew Burnette (South Ward) and Town administrator David Smoak for about one hour. to share complaints and possible solutions.
