Tabitha Smith: Woman who died handcuffed in patrol car after cop crashed into Tennessee river identified
MEIGS COUNTY, TENNESSEE: Tabitha Smith, 35, a mother of two, was discovered lifeless in the backseat of a submerged police patrol car.
Meigs County Sheriff's Deputy Robert 'RJ' Leonard had arrested Smith on Wednesday evening, February 14, responding to a report of a domestic dispute on a bridge around 10 pm.
Deputy Robert 'RJ' Leonard's first arrest turns fatal
This marked Deputy Leonard's first arrest, but the situation took a devastating turn when the patrol car, carrying the duo, ended up in a local river. Smith, affectionately known as Tabby by her friends, leaves behind a grieving husband and two children, as reported by WVLT.
Close friends and acquaintances remember Smith as someone with a "heart of gold" despite the challenges she faced. "I hope they remember her by her name. Tabby Smith. And I hope she's remembered by more than the girl in the back seat," said her friend Emilie Neusel.
Deputy's final call and subsequent discovery of bodies
The tragic incident unfolded as Leonard made a final call to dispatch, uttering the word 'water' before losing all communication. On Thursday, the submerged patrol car was retrieved from the Hiwassee River, revealing Smith's lifeless body. The deputy's lifeless body was also located nearby, covered in mud.
Meigs County District Attorney Russell Johnson detailed the discovery, highlighting the mud-covered backseat where Smith's body was found. Despite Leonard being a recent graduate of the training academy, Chief Deputy Brian Malone emphasized his quick integration into the law enforcement family.
"It's a hard time for us here. It's something that we don't ever deal with here in Meigs County," he said.
Theoretical insights into the tragic incident
The investigation into the incident revealed that Leonard, in his final moments, communicated his destination to the county jail with a suspect. However, communication broke down shortly after, with the deputy failing to respond to status checks. Simultaneously, he sent a text to his wife about an "arrest", a message that seemingly went unnoticed.
Special techniques were required to decipher Leonard's last radio call, where he mentioned "water". Authorities utilized satellite tracking and a location-sharing app to pinpoint the submerged vehicle near Blythe Ferry Road. While agencies are still investigating, the prevailing theory suggests that the incident was an accident.
"They are not well-lit. They are not well marked. They are narrow. If he's not paying attention, he could hit that water pretty quick," Johnson claimed, before adding, "We're operating under the theory that it was an accident - he missed his turn, he wasn't familiar, and he was doing other things that may have caused him to go into the water."
