Saturday Morning Crash Claims One and Injures others
by: Dwayne PageJun 22, 2025
A 21-year-old man lost his life and three others including two children (ages 10 & 6) were involved in a head-on crash early this morning (Saturday, June 21) on Highway 56 north (Cookeville Highway) in DeKalb County near the Putnam County line.
Trooper Chris Delong of the Tennessee Highway Patrol said Idan Alberto Estudillo Gutierrez was traveling southbound in a 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander when he crossed the double yellow center line of the highway while negotiating a curve and struck in the front end a northbound 2024 GMC Terrain driven by 60-year-old Jama Martin. The collision caused disabling damage to both vehicles. After impact, Martin’s vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway facing eastbound against a guardrail and Gutierrez’s vehicle came to a final rest in the roadway facing northbound.
Passengers with Martin, a 10-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy were transported by EMS to Cookeville Regional Medical Center.
Neither driver was wearing a seatbelt.
Meanwhile, the DeKalb County Fire Department posted more details about the crash. Their report by Chief Donny Green states as follows:
“At 2:34 a.m. on Saturday, the DeKalb County Fire Department, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, the DeKalb County Emergency Medical Service (EMS) and the Tennessee Highway Patrol responded to a 2-vehicle head-on crash on Smithville Highway near the county line”.
“When sheriff deputies arrived, they found one of the vehicles (2024 GMC Terrain) on fire with flames coming from the engine compartment. The driver (female) was still inside the vehicle and one occupant (one of the children) was outside the automobile. Deputies deployed fire extinguishers and contained the blaze until firefighters arrived and snuffed out the fire. Deputies also reported the sole occupant of the other vehicle (Gutierrez) was trapped and pinned inside the vehicle”.
“The DeKalb County Fire Department’s extrication unit and personnel arrived, assessed the scene, requested mutual aid assistance from Putnam County Rescue, and began extrication operations. The driver (Gutierrez) was extricated, and EMS treated and transported all patients to Cookeville Regional Medical Center.”
Gutierrez reportedly died at the hospital.
Leadership DeKalb Class of 2025 Graduates
by: Dwayne PageJun 21, 2025
The Leadership DeKalb Class of 2025 has officially graduated and held a celebration on June 17th, 2025 at the Smithville First United Methodist Church Community Center.
This year’s graduates include (pictured back row) Emma Adkins-DTC, Austin Johnson-Wilson Bank & Trust, Connor Adcock- Middle TN Natural Gas, Noah Roberts-Liberty State Bank, Jana Gibbs-Down Under Poultry, Dawn Doll-Your Glamping Adventure/Simpli Hom Real Estate, (front row) Steve Cantrell-Retired Air Force, Leigh Fuson-Leadership DeKalb Director, Holly Prisock- Wilson Bank and Trust, Bryna Pelham-DCHS Class of 2025, and Hannah Keith-DCHS Class of 2025.
These community leaders attended 9 monthly sessions learning more about successes and challenges in DeKalb County while networking and gaining team building skills. These sessions would not be possible without all of the generous sponsors, hosts, and alumni that assist each month.
Applications for the Class of 2026 will be available soon. You may email leaddekalb1@gmail.com or call the DeKalb County/Smithville Chamber of Commerce at 615-597-4163 if you would like more information.
DeKalb May Local Option Sales Tax Report
by: Dwayne PageJun 20, 2025
DeKalb County’s local option sales tax collections for May, 2025 were up significantly compared to the same month last year but were off a bit from April 2025.
According to the Tennessee Department of Revenue, DeKalb County collected $222,504 in local option sales taxes in May 2025, up from $175,278 in May 2024 but down from April’s number of $226,958.
Smithville’s collections for May were $422,648, better than $397,525 in May 2024 but down from $429,764 in April.
Alexandria’s local option sales tax collections stood at $36,980 in May, up from $29,309 in May 2024 but down significantly from $56,812 in April.
Dowell town’s collections for May were $4,193, an increase from $3,499 in May 2024 and slightly better than $4,030 in April.
Collections in Liberty stood at $16,396 in May, down from the $18,367 taken in during May 2024 and well under April’s collections of $30,206.
Net collections for the county and cities combined in May were $702,724, better than the $623,979 shown for May 2024 but below April’s number of $747,771.
May collections reflect activity for the previous month.