Knoxville judge cited for driving wrong way on Middle Tennessee interstate ramp

Tyler Whetstone, Knoxville News Sentinel
·2 min read
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Longtime Knoxville municipal judge John Rosson was cited in February for driving the wrong direction on a Middle Tennessee interstate, Knox News has learned. He is scheduled to appear in Williamson County General Sessions Court on July 11.

Rosson, 75, was cited for “reckless driving, driving head on with traffic on interstate” and for traveling the wrong way on a one-way road on at about 8:30 p.m. Feb. 28, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol citation obtained by Knox News.

Rosson told Knox News he was traveling on Interstate 65 when he came upon traffic – from a wreck or construction, he wasn't sure which – and he had to urinate. So, he said, he drove along the side of the interstate to an exit ramp and went the wrong way up the exit ramp in order to get to a gas station to use the bathroom.

“I got charged for doing the wrong way on the interstate, but I didn’t,” he said. “It was the wrong way on the ramp.

Knoxville municipal judge John Rosson was cited for traveling the wrong way on a Middle Tennessee highway in February.
Knoxville municipal judge John Rosson was cited for traveling the wrong way on a Middle Tennessee highway in February.

“I’m 75 years old and I had to urinate," he continued. "Sometimes when you got to go, you got to go. I’d been waiting a little while and it was getting to the point where I had to do something, or I’d get embarrassed.”

Rosson said the trooper gave him a ticket. He was not asked to get out of the car. He did not perform a field sobriety test.

A spokesperson for the Tennessee Highway Patrol could not immediately be reached for comment.

After the story published, Rosson provided a letter from his urologist, Jeff Flickinger, dated March 8, a little over a week after his citation, which said Rosson is "unable to sit for longer than 30 minutes without using the restroom."

Rosson has served as the municipal judge, an elected position, since 1986. There are no term limits for the position and he is running for reelection this fall. As municipal judge, Rosson oversees the city's traffic court – traffic citations and parking tickets – and handles other violations of city ordinances.

Marshall Jensen II, a federal public defender, has picked up a petition to run for the seat, though he has not turned it in or named a treasurer.

Tyler Whetstone is a Knox News investigative reporter focused on accountability journalism. Email tyler.whetstone@knoxnews.com. Twitter @tyler_whetstone.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville judge John Rosson cited for driving wrong way on interstate