Smyrna Man ID'd As Victim In Deadly Bell Road Crash

ANTIOCH, TN -- After a fiery and deadly early Sunday morning crash on Bell Road, Metro Police initially - and tentatively - identified the victim as the car's 49-year-old owner; however, the department now says the victim was a 20-year-old Smyrna man believed to have stolen the car.

Metro Police said Jamarquez Rakeem Owens was driving a Nissan Sentra on Bell Road near Cane Ridge Road and hit a utility pole at 4:20 a.m. Sunday, causing the car to catch fire. Owens was not wearing a seatbelt and died at the scene.

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Because of injuries sustained in the crash, MNPD was only able to make a tentative ID on the scene and initially announced the victim was the owner of the Sentra, but waited to make a formal identification until after the medical examiner examined the body. In the meantime, the car's owner reported the Sentra stolen.

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