Owner says ‘show will go on’

An unnamed suspect is in custody after leading Elizabethton City and Carter County Sheriff’s law enforcement officials on a high-speed vehicle pursuit that resulted in a deputy losing control of his vehicle and slamming into the base of the Stateline Drive-In Theater’s screen.

According to Carter County Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Thomas Gray, “the City of Elizabethton Police Department initiated a pursuit inside the city. The suspect fled from the city officers out into the county. One of our county deputies contacted the vehicle and began a pursuit. Another deputy was en route to that pursuit, and some traffic in front of him on 19E caused him to swerve and, ultimately, lose control of the vehicle and crash into the Stateline property that we see here.”

Andy Wetzel, who owns the Stateline along with his wife, said the front side is good.

“We have some structural damage underneath, and we need to put some cable back, but we should be able to operate this weekend,” said Wetzel. “By the grace of God everyone is OK — that was a wild accident.”

The name of the suspect and his charges were not available at press time.