Woman in stolen semi truck leads authorities on wild chase

A woman was taken into custody in Knox County, Tenessee, after refusing to stop the stolen semi truck she was driving.

On August 4, Amy Butler-Cordray led Knox County and Jefferson County sheriff’s office deputies as well as Tennessee Highway Patrol deputies on a chase in a semi tractor truck on Interstate 40.

The tractor trailer was reported stolen around 10 a.m. from the Pilot at 2801 E. Governor John Severy Highway.

According to deputies, Butler-Cordray did not stop during an attempted traffic stop and kept driving, turning the vehicle onto Strawberry Plains Pike and eventually I-40 east. Multiple attempts to deploy spike strips were unsuccessful as the suspect swerved to avoid them until around Mile Marker 422. More spike strips were deployed and the vehicle came to a stop in a ditch on the side of the roadway.

Butler-Cordray was taken into custody near the I-40 and I-81 split and transported to the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility. 

Butler-Cordray was also in possession of a gray pit bull puppy that was allegedly stolen from a stolen vehicle in Memphis. That vehicle was recovered by deputies near where the suspect took the semi-truck.

This is an ongoing investigation and Butler-Cordray’s charges are pending.