Trucker recounts events leading to hit-and-run
Posted on 01/17/2003 2:57:32 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Trucker recounts events leading to hit-and-run
'I'd never seen anything like that, and I was in shock,' driver says
01/17/2003
The interstate was clear in his rearview mirror as long-haul trucker Michael D. Long cruised at 60 mph in the far right lane of Interstate 35E before dawn Tuesday, the trucker said Thursday.
Moments later, reckless drivers triggered two collisions, setting in motion a series of events that killed two would-be rescuers and left a Dallas Cowboys player facing felony manslaughter charges, according to the trucker's account and a report issued by Dallas police Thursday.
The first crash happened about 2:15 a.m., when a speeding and inattentive driver slammed into the back of Mr. Long's tractor-trailer cab, police said.
The Mitsubishi Galant driven by Frederick L. Person of Garland careened across the freeway's five lanes, struck the concrete barrier and caught fire near the left shoulder.
With the truck brakes locked up from the collision, Mr. Long said, he skidded to a stop on the right-side shoulder.
As he got out of his truck, he said, other motorists stopped to rescue Mr. Person, who was trapped inside the burning car.
Mr. Long said he heard the second crash as Cowboys' backup cornerback Dwayne Goodrich drove up between the car and the concrete barrier. Witnesses said the car was going more than 100 mph.
Mr. Goodrich's BMW 745i struck three men trying to rescue Mr. Person. Two were thrown more than 150 feet, and one landed in front of the burning car, according to police reports.
The police report does not indicate that anything was blocking the middle three lanes of freeway. It's not clear why Mr. Goodrich, 24, chose to drive on the left side of the burning car.
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Mr. Goodrich's attorney, Reed Prosepere, said Wednesday that his client initially thought he avoided the cars and hit only debris. He declined to comment about the case Thursday, saying he was not aware of any new details.
Mr. Long said he was staggered by the carnage and used his mobile phone to call for help.
"I'd never seen anything like that, and I was in shock," Mr. Long said. "It sounded like the ... [BMW] had hit another vehicle, but the impact was off the people. ... He never even slowed down."
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Joseph "Joby" Wood, 21, and Demont Matthews, 23, both of Plano, were killed by Mr. Goodrich's BMW. The third man suffered a broken leg.
The police report lists inattention and excessive speed as the causes of the first crash, but officials said Thursday that they didn't expect charges to be filed against Mr. Person. He could not be reached for comment.
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Police investigators were looking for Mr. Goodrich on Tuesday afternoon after receiving an anonymous tip about the crash when the player contacted them through his attorney. Mr. Goodrich was arrested and posted a $50,000 bond early Wednesday.
Mr. Goodrich spent nearly two hours at the Silver City Cabaret, a private club and topless bar, before the accident, but he denied through his attorney that he had been drinking.
The general manager of the club said Thursday that surveillance tapes inside the club did not show the football player drinking. More than 12 hours passed between the time Mr. Goodrich left the club and when he met with police to give a statement.
"Nowhere on any tape have we seen Mr. Goodrich drinking," said Silver City Cabaret general manager Tommy Charalambopoulous. "I spoke to Mr. Goodrich as he left, and he was fine and courteous. He was nothing but normal."
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said Thursday that it was investigating whether alcohol played a role in the hit-and-run crash. It will review the tapes from the club's eight cameras, the general manager and a commission spokesman said.
"We're just looking to see if there might be any alcohol involved. But we just started the investigation," the commission's spokesman, Sgt. John Busby, said Thursday.
The commission investigates whenever alcohol might have been involved in a criminal act, Sgt. Busby said.
Police said Mr. Goodrich could face additional charges for failing to stop and render aid.
One witness, 35-year-old Linette Crall of Lewisville, said the driver of the BMW had to know he hit the men.
"I saw them, and I was 50 feet away," she said. "There's no way you can miss that. One of the men weighed almost 300 pounds."
E-mail rtharp@dallasnews.com or jemily@dallasnews.com
And we will never know what might have been in his bloodstream at the time of impact.
Not that it will matter anyway. Here's hoping that Goodrich has a long and illustrious NFL career -- he'll be paying most of his lifetime earnings in civil damages to the families of his victims.
Of course, Goodrich didn't do anything as shocking as Rocker who dared to utter some trivial comments about not liking certain categories of people.
Sorry Mr. Goodrich, but you ain't no Ted Kennedy. Cuff 'em, boys.
What a shame that two young men who tried to help were killed...Yes, it is a shame. Here is a related story about these two good samaritans...
Men were killed in hit-and-run while trying to rescue driver
01/17/2003
Services will be Saturday for Joseph "Joby" Wood and Demont Matthews, who were killed by a hit-and-run driver early Tuesday while trying to rescue a motorist from a burning car on Stemmons Freeway.
Services for Mr. Wood, 21, of Plano, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Grace Community Church, 4501 Hedgcoxe Road in Plano. A wake will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Cedar Crest Funeral Home, 1302 Avenue I in Plano.
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Services for Mr. Matthews, 23, will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, 920 E. 14th St. in Plano.
A wake will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at the church. He will be buried in Lincoln Memorial Park in Dallas.
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You know, that is true. I was talking to a friend about this and he posed the question:
What would the change in the situation had Goodrich stopped after his collision and he had been drinking (assuming legally drunk also)? He was wondering if the legal consequences for him would have been worse for him to do the morally right thing (stop) than to do what he did (hit and run) and thus preventing the officers from determining DUI, etc... Your thoughts/opinions?...
S/B "What would be the change in the situation...
The Mitsubishi Galant driven by Frederick L. Person of Garland careened across the freeway's five lanes, struck the concrete barrier and caught fire near the left shoulder.
The police report lists inattention and excessive speed as the causes of the first crash, but officials said Thursday that they didn't expect charges to be filed against Mr. Person.
If Person hadn't hit the semi then I presume none of this would have happened? I wonder who Person is and who he knows.
Let's assume for discussion that he was over the legal limit and was also visibly impaired at that time. I don't think it would change his legal status all that much. Had he stopped, the charges would be aggravated because of his intoxication. Since he did not stop, the charges are aggravated because of his failure to stop and render assistance. Either way, I think he faces roughly the same aggravation of charges and the same scowling jurors.
Now, if he was intoxicated on some illegal substance, that could be worse.
"Nowhere on any tape have we seen Mr. Goodrich drinking,"
Okay, he wasn't drinking, but buying coke.
Our fine, upstanding football hero will get a suspended sentence, a fine of some sort, and a few hours of community service. The civil suits will be settled for a tiny fraction of one year's earnings for our fine football player.
Ahh, blind justice. But must she be profoundly retarded as well?
She'd disappear so fast that America's Most Wanted might as well run a segment on her now.
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