Drunk Driver Sentenced to Nine Years after Fatal Wreck on Tazewell Pike

DA Charme Allen announces that prosecutors in the DUI Unit obtained a nine-year sentence against a man who struck another vehicle head-on after drinking multiple margaritas.  Dennis Wayne Hill, 68, was convicted of Vehicular Homicide by Intoxication and Driving Under the Influence.  Judge Hector Sanchez ordered Hill to serve nine years in prison and denied an appellate bond citing the danger Hill poses to the community.

In a seven-day trial in September, Assistant District Attorneys Mitch Eisenberg and Caleb Smothers explained to the jury that on September 28, 2021, Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper John Capps responded to a fatal wreck on Tazewell Pike.  As an expert crash reconstructionist, Trp. Capps was able to determine that Hill drove partially off the right side of the roadway for over two hundred feet before accelerating back into the road and into oncoming traffic where he struck the victim’s vehicle head-on, killing him.  Hill admitted to drinking multiple margaritas before driving.  When Hill’s blood was drawn at the hospital hours later, his blood alcohol content was 0.094 which would equate to 0.129-.164 at the time of the wreck, above the legal limit of .08.

“This is another senseless tragedy that could have been avoided,” said DA Allen.

Vehicular Homicide is a Class B felony that carries a punishment between eight and twelve years.  Assistant Victim Witness Coordinator Brittany Wilhelmson aided in the prosecution of this case.

If you have any questions, please contact Sean McDermott at 865-215-2515 or Sean.McDermott@knoxcounty.org. For more information about the District Attorney’s Office, visit our website at dag.knoxcountytn.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.