On September 11, 2025, around 7:15 a.m., Deputy Morgan Alvarez of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of a possible vehicle accident in the 1000 block of Bud Tanner Road in Crossville. Upon arrival, the deputy found a black Nissan Sentra that had crashed head-on into a tree, with no occupants present; Mackie’s Towing towed the vehicle away after unsuccessful attempts to contact the owner.

Later, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Alvarez was alerted by a person with I-40 BP Towing, who reported encountering a male and female—appearing intoxicated—near the site, though the vehicle was no longer there. Returning to the scene, the deputy spoke with the vehicle’s owner, a 56-year-old female passenger from Manchester, Tennessee, alongside the male suspect, later confirmed as Juan Pablo Castro, 36, of Crossville.

Initially, the owner claimed she was driving and suffered a medical episode causing the crash while transporting Castro to his job at McDaniel West Painting around 5:00 a.m., but she soon recanted, admitting Castro was actually behind the wheel. Castro, who briefly fled the scene in a black Chevy Trailblazer before returning, exhibited signs of intoxication including a strong alcohol odor and red, watery, bloodshot eyes; he repeatedly insisted the owner was driving and that he lacked a valid license, though he later admitted to drinking a beer post-accident and briefly leaving to use the bathroom while insisting they hadn’t abandoned the scene.

After warning Castro about potential false reporting charges, the deputy arrested him on-site at around 10:30 a.m. for leaving the scene of an accident, driving without a license, and making false reports, transporting him to Cumberland County Jail for booking. Court dates for all charges are set for October 6, 2025, with bonds totaling $17,000.