A driver of a white pickup truck was detained Sunday afternoon on Highway 231 in Lebanon, Tennessee, after “playing sound similar to what was heard before the Christmas Day explosion,” local investigators said.
According to the sheriff in Rutherford County, the truck was pulled about half an hour east of Murfreesboro Road from where the explosion took place in downtown Nashville just two days earlier. Residents in the immediate area were evacuated, sheriffs barricaded off the highway and a detective robot for explosives was deployed to search the vehicle.
“The driver traveled from Rutherford County to Wilson County, where he was stopped and detained by deputies. As a precaution, nearby residents were evacuated during the active investigation. Rutherford and Wilson County Sheriff’s Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol are cooperating in the ongoing investigation. , “the sheriff in Rutherford County said Sunday in a statement setting out the incident.
At 16:40 local time, the highway reopened after being closed since about 11:00 due to the suspicious vehicle search.
No explosives were found in the suspicious truck that closed 231 South in Tennessee on Sunday, authorities announced at about 4 p.m. local time after hours in which the vehicle was searched with machines while sheriff’s deputy delegates closed the road.
Authorities confirmed to the Associated Press on Sunday that the pickup was playing similar sound to what the RV had emitted before it exploded.
Live news feeds and local news reporters said the white pickup was playing an “evacuation message” from a speaker, similar to the sound the RV was playing on Christmas morning. There is no direct connection between the two incidents.
Highway 231 southward from the entrance of the Cedars of Lebanon State Park remains closed due to the suspicious vehicle, the Wilson County Sheriff announced Sunday afternoon at 1:29 p.m. local time.
“Please avoid the area and look for an alternative route,” the department’s official Twitter account insisted.
The sheriff of Rutherford County announced that the truck was playing the sound at the Crossroads Market in Walter Hill around 10:30 local time. The person in the vehicle drove the truck off the parking lot and then pulled over by delegates in nearby Wilson County.
Newsweek contacted both local sheriff’s offices on Sunday afternoon for additional details.
This story was updated with additional information at 05:43 ET.
Screenshot: YouTube