'Poisoning kills one, injures two' and more Chattanooga region news

Poisoning kills one, injures two

RAINSVILLE, Ala. - One person is dead and two were injured Saturday by suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Jimmy Harris said Charles Gerald Downer, 51, of Rainsville, was pronounced dead by DeKalb County Coroner Tom Wilson. The two unconscious men were airlifted to Erlanger hospital in Chattanooga for treatment, a news release stated.

Thomas Michael Daniel, 24, of Woodville, Ala., was released Sunday from Erlanger after treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning.

Alfred Arland Crosby, 25, of Rainsville, was listed in satisfactory condition at the hospital Monday.

The victims were discovered when a relative was unable to contact one by phone and drove to the home, finding the three inside. The relative removed the two unconscious men to the porch and phoned 911.

There had been no power at the house because it was being remodeled. A generator had been placed under the residence with a electrical drop cord through a window opening and then the window had been closed on the cord.


Two men charged in shooting

CROSSVILLE, Tenn. - Two people have been charged in a drive-by shooting in Crossville that left one person injured.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Kristin Helm said Danny Bilyeu, 36, and Nathaniel Payne, 31, both of Crossville, were arrested Monday. Helm said Bilyeu is suspected of firing into a house and injuring one person Sunday. She said Payne was in the vehicle with Bilyeu when the shots were fired.

The victim was shot once in the abdomen and treated for injuries at a nearby hospital. Another adult and two children were in the home when the shooting happened.

Bilyeu is charged with attempted first-degree murder and one count of criminal attempt. Payne is charged with criminal responsibility for attempted first-degree murder and criminal responsibility for criminal attempt.


Smokies road open to traffic

GATLINBURG, Tenn. - The major route over the Smoky Mountains is open to traffic, three months after a landslide took out a section of it.

The National Park Service said Monday that U.S. 441 was reopened at 10 a.m., allowing travel between Gatlinburg, Tenn., and Cherokee, N.C.

On Jan. 13, a 200-foot-long section of the two-lane highway slid the length of a football field down a slope on the North Carolina side of the park.

Also, the park released visitation figures, and they are down sharply.

The number of people coming into the park in March was 465,594 -- down 23.8 percent from the same month in 2012.

For 2013 to date, visits are off 47.4 percent from the park's five-year average.

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