KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – People throughout Jefferson County are remembering and honoring Fourth District Court Judge O. Duane Sloane after he was killed in a pedestrian accident over the weekend.
A woman who went through the trial in Sloane’s courtroom thanked him for saving her life.
Previous reporting: Judge killed in car crash in Jefferson County, Tennessee Highway Patrol said
In a previous life, Angie Priddy struggled with addiction. Today, however, she finds herself in a very different situation.
“I was addicted and did things,” Priddy said. “I wasn’t the best member of society and did things I shouldn’t do.”
That was almost ten years ago. She has now been sober for nine years.
“I think he really cared about helping addicts and he was a great judge,” Priddy said. “He believed in second chances.”
Priddy served two years in prison after attending Sloane’s courtroom. She credits the experience and Sloane herself with helping her get clean and get her life back on track.
“I actually wrote him a letter saying ‘thank you.’ I know it sucks to go to jail, but for me at the time, it was the best thing,” she said. “I just always felt like it saved my life because to this day I’m sober and doing well.”
But Priddy isn’t the only one who remembers Sloane fondly. He also left a lasting impression on the people he worked with.
“He was a great mentor to me,” said the Rev. Debra Schultz, who was active in groups such as Rescue 180, the Jefferson County drug coalition.
“He decided to go even further to help and change these very criminals,” she said of the judge. “He would say: To God be the glory.”
This opinion is shared by many who knew Sloane. One of his fellow judges, Carter Moore, was also a mentor to the late judge.
“He is a friend and mentor of mine,” Moore said. “Proceedings will soon begin to remove Judge Slone, which is extremely difficult because he was such a monumental man.”
The Fourth District has a rough plan for how to handle Sloane’s workload going forward, but from the eyes of those who were close to him, it’s clear that these will be big shoes to fill.
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