By Tabitha Evans Moore | EDITOR & PUBLISHER

FLAT CREEK, Tenn. — It’s Thursday afternoon, April 20, 2023, and a huge emergency response is rushing down Highway 82 in Moore County moving toward Flat Creek. At first, there are just a couple of deputy cars and a Tennessee Highway Patrol car, then an ambulance. Moments later a fire truck, then another one, and finally the local EMA Director’s car passes by.

“Something bad has happened,” I say to my friend. “That a huge response.”

I pick up my phone to text a source inside the Metro Moore County Sheriff’s Department (MMCSD).

“Head on collision in Flat Creek,” he texts back. “Road’s probably going to be closed for the foreseeable future.”

I look at the sky and notice storm clouds moving in, and think, this could get messy.

I’d later learn that 21 year-old Corbin Springer passed on a double yellow line right in front of a MMCSD deputy, who happened to be patrolling Highway 82 at the time. Rather than pull over for a routine traffic stop, Springer fled – passing another car on a double yellow to evade the local deputy and hitting the Peel’s SUV head on.

{EDITOR’S NOTE: To read our complete coverage of that 2023 crash click here and here.}

Shattered Lives on Both Sides

By the end of the night, I would discover that the driver of the SUV, Lori Stokes Peels, age 51, was pronounced dead on the scene and that her husband Gary Peels, age 54, the passenger, was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in critical condition. He was in bad shape.

Due to high winds that night, air ambulance could not be deployed at the scene. Instead, emergency officials transported Gary via ambulance to Tullahoma Airport, then Vanderbilt LifeFlight transported him to Nashville. He died the next day.

In a single moment, a beloved family from the Flat Creek community’s entire life was shattered into a million pieces by an impaired driver. Lori taught at the Liberty School in Bedford County and Gary worked at Jack Daniel’s Distillery Visitor’s Center. They were parents to a special needs daughter, Hannah.

Of course, the life of Springer would also never be the same. With serious charges pending, he’d likely altered the trajectory of his entire life.

Raising Awareness of Driving Stoned

Tonight (Friday, April 11,2025) local law enforcement plans a memorial sobriety checkpoint to honor the memory of all the lives that were forever changed that night. MMCSD Chief Deputy Shane Taylor and Deputy Field Training Officer Maygan Silavong will spearhead the event.

Chief Taylor says he wanted to schedule the memorial checkpoint near the date of 2023 crash because Springer later admitted to deputies that he’d been celebrating 4/20 – an unofficial holiday in cannabis culture – prior to getting into his car that night.

Legend holds that celebrating 4/20 dates to the 1970s when a group of five high school students in San Rafael, California, who called themselves The Waldos, used to meet at 4:20 p.m. by a statue of Louis Pasteur to search for a rumored abandoned cannabis crop. They’d say “420” to each other as code for weed.

“I wanted to do a checkpoint in memory of the Peels because the accident happened on 4/20,” Chief Deputy Taylor says. “We want to stress that impaired driving, is impaired driving plain and simple. My hope is that others will realize that the age-old belief that people on marijuana drive slower and somehow are not as impaired as if they were drinking alcohol, is an absolute untruth. It’s just as dangerous.”

Enforcement Changes Behavior

So, why a memorial sobriety checkpoint? Chief Taylor says that enforcement changes behavior – especially a high visibility event like a multi-agency checkpoint tha will happen tonight.

“When we conduct a checkpoint of this size, it creates a conversation,” Chief Taylor says. “It’s not about how many we can arrest. It’s about deterrence and changed behavior in those that partake in impaired driving. We also want to boost the confidence of law-abiding citizens and victims of these senseless crimes. We want our community to know that we care.”

Chief Taylor says accidents like the one that happened on Highway 82 that fateful night affect the whole community. Locals lost co-workers and friends. In the days that followed, folks in both Flat Creek and Lynchburg rallied around Hannah. The images and emotions of something like a head-on collision stick with first responders for years.

Of course, Chief Taylor recognizes that not everyone loves the idea of a sobriety checkpoint. Some view them as bothersome, and others argue that they are unconstitutional.

“Checkpoints are allowed in the State of Tennessee by statute,” Chief Taylor says. “We don’t need probable cause to pull you over at a checkpoint.”

He also notes that articles like this one serve as advanced notice and that signage pointing out that a sobriety checkpoint is ahead will be posted this evening prior to the checkpoint.

Should you encounter the sobriety checkpoint tonight, there’s no need to be nervous or concerned. Local deputies only need a few seconds of your time. Officers will introduce themselves, explain their purpose, and ask if the driver has used any substance that could cause impairment.

“After a few seconds, the driver is free to proceed, as long as no violations of state law are witnessed by officers,” Chief Taylor says.

Creating Something Good from Something Bad

In the end, Chief Taylor says preventing impaired drivers from impacting local lives is the responsibility of the entire community. As the old adage says, “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk or impaired.” Citizens are also encouraged to call 9-1-1 if they spot an erratic vehicle or suspect an impaired driver.

Nights like April 20, 2023 shatter lives, but like all situations in life there’s always an opportunity to create something good out of something bad.

“I am hoping to make this an annual event in honor of the Peels,” Chief Taylor says. “We hope to bring more awareness to 4/20, which is revered as a pot smokers holiday by many. Marijuana use is often looked at as safer than other intoxicating substances. We want to change this way of thinking and raise awareness that impairment is impairment, no matter the substance.” •

{The Lynchburg Times is a nonpartisan, independent community newspaper serving Lynchburg, Tennessee and the surrounding counties. We are dedicated to public service journalism for the greater good of our community. You can support us, by clicking here.}