Father, son arrested after highway chase, melee

James Vasco Watkins, 48, 2819 Hwy. 98 West, was charged with one count of battery, while his son, Donald Gaylord Watkins, 18, of 2763 Hwy 98 West, was arrested on one count of disorderly conduct.

According to the incident report, Watkins senior called the 911 center to report that his son, Donald, was driving recklessly at a high rate of speed with several juveniles in the back of his truck.

The father and son had reportedly been arguing over the son’s girlfriend, while the teen’s aunt and grandmother were trying to break it up, the report stated.

“Apparently, the family was worried about Donald and decided to chase him all over the county (in two cars) physically trying to stop him while he was driving…(which) led to a seriously dangerous situation,” the deputy noted.

A volunteer firefighter heard the incident over his radio and picked up the chase, calling for the vehicles to stop over his loudspeaker as he followed them.

Watkins senior and his sister-in-law (in separate cars) eventually pulled in front of the teen near Diamond Hill Grocery and forced him to pull over.

“That’s when all parties got out of their vehicles and began to argue with each other,” the report stated. When one of the juveniles who’d been in the bed of the truck tried to get between father and son, Watkins senior allegedly struck him and wrestled him to the ground.

Watkins junior allegedly became more and more agitated as Deputy Kidd tried to interview everyone. When he refused to calm down and stop cursing, he was arrested for disorderly conduct.

Both men were taken to the Madison County Jail.