PADUCAH, Ky. (News First) — At approximately 7:18 a.m. Friday, the McCracken County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residential structure fire on Almyra Avenue. Upon arrival, authorities discovered the fire had been intentionally set by one of the occupants, Noah Driver, 24, using a homemade incendiary device after he choked a female in the home.
The female victim managed to escape, and all occupants of the home exited without injury, though a dog perished in the fire. Driver fled the scene in a stolen 2018 Toyota Camry. He was reported to be armed with a loaded firearm and a large sword, wearing a tactical vest, and had allegedly made threats about not going to jail.
At 9:25 a.m., an officer with the Paducah Police Department spotted the vehicle near Park Avenue and 21st Street. Driver fled westbound on Park Avenue and onto U.S. Highway 60 West, traveling through McCracken County into Ballard County. While entering the La Center community in Ballard County, Driver caused a three-vehicle collision. Several occupants of the vehicles were taken to local and out-of-state hospitals for treatment of non-incapacitating injuries.
Driver was also taken to a local hospital for treatment and later lodged at the Marshall County Jail on multiple charges, including first-degree arson, first-degree strangulation, first-degree wanton endangerment, fourth-degree assault, firearm theft, motor vehicle theft, violation of conditions of release, third-degree use of a weapon of mass destruction, and torture of a dog causing death.
The Kentucky State Police, Paducah Police Department, Ballard County Sheriff’s Office, Concord Fire Department, McCracken County Emergency Management, and Carlisle County Sheriff’s Office are collectively investigating the incident.
