KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Oct. 1, a Knox County deputy was fatally shot while responding to a call about a domestic situation. Hundreds of miles away, a Florida teenager ran a mile to honor Deputy Tucker Blakely.
Zechariah Cartledge started the Running 4 Heroes nonprofit. As part of the nonprofit's programs, he runs a mile for every fallen first responder across the country. He ran a mile when Sgt. Chris Jenkins was fatally hit by a truck while in the line of duty in Loudon County, in February 2022.
"Tennessee is one of those states that has always had a special place in the heart of this mission, which makes it even harder whenever we have to run for a community that we are so closely connected to because it almost feels like a home run for us — and not in a good way," said Chad Cartledge, the CEO and co-founder of Running 4 Heroes.
Zechariah ran the mile for Blakely on Friday, at 7 p.m. The nonprofit will send flags to Blakely's family as well as his home agency. The nonprofit also helped organize a beneficiary fund for Blakely's family.