On August 14th, 2012 at 0147 hours the Elizabethton Police Department was dispatched to a single vehicle motor vehicle wreck with injuries at 1518 Milligan Highway. Units arrived on scene and found a white 2002 BMW 325i had struck an overhead sign pole for Milligan Grocery. The driver, Micah Alexander Cates, was transported to Johnson City Medical Center with serious injuries and the passenger, Tanner Lee Perkins, was pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation into the crash was conducted by members of the Specialized Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team. While on scene officers located numerous items of drug paraphernalia inside of the vehicle. Findings of the investigation revealed that speed was a contributing factor into the wreck and lab results from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations indicated Mr. Cates was under the influence of an intoxicant.
The details of the investigation were presented to the Carter County Grand Jury on September 6th, 2012. The Carter County Grand Jury returned a True Bill charging Mr. Cates with Vehicular Homicide (Intoxication). He was taken into custody on September 11th, 2012 and is scheduled to appear in Carter County Criminal Court.
