Autopsy report reveals new details after Blount County deputy’s fatal crash

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — An autopsy report has revealed new details in the death of Blount County Deputy Justin Mowery, who died on December 28 after the crash along Miser Station Road. Previously, Tennessee Highway Patrol's preliminary report shared that Mowry, 30, was attempting to stop a motorcycle that failed to pull over when his patrol car left the roadway and struck a utility pole. Additionally, THP's report stated that Mowery was not wearing a seatbelt. An autopsy was preformed on Mowery's body at the Knox County Regional Forensic Center. According to the report from that autopsy, Mowry's death was caused by blunt force injuries to his head, and his death has been classified as an accident. A narrative in the autopsy report stated that Mowery radioed Blount County Sheriff's Office dispatch at 5:10 p.m. on December 28 to record a traffic stop for a motorcycle. He then radioed dispatch again a minute later to say he was in pursuit of the motorcycle after it fled the traffic stop. Shortly after that call, Mowery failed to negotiate a curve and left the right side of the road, near the 4200 block of Miser Station Road, according to the autopsy report. The report explains that during the crash, the vehicle Mowery was driving struck a tree and a utility pole after leaving the roadway. It then rolled down an embankment and came to a rest on the driver's side after travelling a total of 92 feet from where it first struck the utility pole. During the crash, Mowery was partially ejected from the vehicle, the autopsy report stated. It adds that bystanders called 911 and some civilians used Mowery's radio to request assistance from dispatch. When first responders arrived at the scene, they confirmed that Mowery did not have a detectable heart beat. His death was officially pronounced at the scene at 7:10 p.m. After the crash, the Blount County Sheriff's Office asked the public for help identifying a motorcyclist that was seen fleeing the crash. The sheriff's office later shared that Dalton Bowman, 24, was facing charges of felony charges of evading arrest that resulted in the death of a law enforcement officer and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon stemming from the crash. He is also facing misdemeanor charges of driving without a license and simple possession of methamphetamine.