NASHVILLE --- The Tennessee Highway Patrol’s Chattanooga District today announced preliminary statistics from the 2013 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Coffee County last Wednesday, June 12 through Monday, June 17, 2013.

NASHVILLE --- In just the first six months of this year, 10 children have lost their lives in the United States due to hyperthermia. That’s why the Tennessee Highway Patrol is educating the public on the dangers of leaving children in unattended vehicles. State Troopers are urging motorists to take extra precautions as temperatures rise throughout the summer months.

NASHVILLE – For over a decade, the Middle Tennessee city of Manchester in Coffee County has hosted one of the most popular live music events in the country - the annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.  The festival is a four-day, multi-stage music festival held on a 700-acre farm.  Thousands of people from all over the country make the yearly trip to attend the festival, and Manchester becomes their temporary home for several days in June.  As in years past, over 80,000 music lovers are expected to attend this year’s festival, which kicks off Thursday night, June 13, and winds down Sunday night, June 16.

With 80,000 festivalgoers converging on an old farm site in Coffee County, the area in and around Manchester always sees increased traffic throughout the festival.  As Manchester prepares to welcome a multitude of visitors, the Tennessee Department of Transportation and Tennessee Highway Patrol are gearing up for the extra traffic expected in the area.  TDOT and the THP are working closely with the Manchester Police Department, the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department and festival promoters to keep traffic moving on I-24 while also getting Bonnaroo attendees to their destination.

NASHVILLE--- Officials from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security and Tennessee Highway Patrol formally recognized 25 individuals for recent promotions in a special ceremony Wednesday afternoon at the agency’s Training Center in Nashville. Commissioner Bill Gibbons, Deputy Commissioner Larry Godwin and THP Colonel Tracy Trott were on-hand to congratulate the recipients.    

NASHVILLE --- The Tennessee Highway Patrol’s Maureen Velez became the agency’s first state trooper to earn national certification as a Crime Scene Investigator by the International Association for Identification (IAI). Trooper Velez is a member of the THP’s Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT), serving the Memphis and Jackson Districts.

NASHVILLE --- The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security and Tennessee Highway Patrol today announced a decline in traffic fatalities during this year’s Memorial Day holiday period. Preliminary figures indicate eight people were killed in traffic crashes on state roadways during the 78-hour holiday enforcement, which ran from 6 p.m., Friday, May 24 through 11:59 p.m., Monday, May 27. 

NASHVILLE --- The Tennessee Highway Patrol will step up seat belt and DUI enforcement efforts over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The THP also encourages all motorists to drive safely during the 78-hour period. State troopers will conduct several seat belt and sobriety checkpoints and will be out in force patrolling statewide to help ensure safe roadways this holiday. 

CHATTANOOGA --- Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons and Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) Colonel Tracy Trott today announced the Chattanooga THP district is the first to use a new statewide interoperable communications system.  Motorola Solutions is upgrading each district in the state to the new system that will enhance the efficiency, safety and service of troopers and the public. The Motorola ASTRO® 25 radio system will ultimately allow troopers across the state, no matter where they are located, to clearly speak to each other with the push of a button.

NASHVILLE --- Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons and Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) Colonel Tracy Trott led a special memorial service Friday to honor Tennessee state troopers and other law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. In observance of National Police Week, the THP’s annual Memorial Service was held at the department’s headquarters in Nashville.

NASHVILLE --- A Tennessee state trooper on Wednesday arrested a convicted felon on weapons charges and violating probation following a traffic stop on Interstate-40 in Cocke County.