Casey endangerment case waived to grand jury

January 31, 2007|BRENDA S. EDWARDS

LIBERTY - Probable cause was found Tuesday in the case of a Dunnville woman who faces four counts of first-degree wanton endangerment after her vehicle crashed into a local Dairy Mart earlier this month. The case was waived to a Casey County grand jury.

Evidence about the crash that injured four people was heard by Judge Michael Loy in Casey District Court.

Testimony by Assistant Police Chief Steven Garrett showed that Barbara "Jeanie" Allen, 61, of 1394 Red Hill Road, was driving the vehicle that ran through the Dairy Mart on Wallace Wilkinson Boulevard on Jan. 3.

He said the vehicle went through the front door and stopped at the back wall. The car seriously injured 17-year-old Jessica Price of Liberty when it pinned her against the back wall.

The vehicle also knocked Allen's son, Mark Wesley, a customer, into another customer, Robert Booth of the South Fork community.

Price suffered severe leg and foot injuries and was taken to University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center. Wesley did not seek treatment, and Booth was taken to Casey County Hospital for treatment.

Allen, who also faces driving under the influence of drugs and first-degree criminal mischief charges, also was taken to the local hospital for treatment for a nosebleed and blood and urine tests, according to Garrett.

When questioned by county Attorney Thomas M. Weddle Jr., Garrett said he arrived two minutes after the crash and a lot of people were in the store.

"There was a lot of damage," said Garrett. "It looked like a tornado went through the store."

Garrett said Price was pinned between the wall and the car when he saw her.

Car came from parking lot

"When I saw her right leg, I could see bones." He said the foot appeared to be broken off from the leg and was only attached by skin.

Evidence showed the car came into the store from the parking area and skid marks were in the lot and through the store.

Garrett said Allen appeared to be under the influence of prescription medication, but she denied it at first. Later, she admitted to taking Klonopin about noon the day of the crash.

Allen failed the sobriety test and was nervous and unsteady on her feet and had slurred speech, according to Garrett.

He testified that he did not know how any sober person could have kept accelerating the vehicle.

"She told me something was wrong with the gas pedal in the car," the officer testified.

However, evidence showed an inspection of the Mercury Grand Marquis at Bob Allen Motors showed the pedal was not stuck and the vehicle had good brakes.

The fourth wanton endangerment charge was for allegedly endangering the life of Angela Wyatt, a store employee, who was not injured.

A blood test at the hospital was negative for alcohol, and the drug tests are pending, the officer said.

When questioned by Allen's attorney Joe Stewart of Lebanon, Garrett said Allen was impaired, but not in shock. He said her nose was bleeding, but not to the extreme that it ran to her lips.

He said the estimated damages to the store will run up to $50,000.

Evidence in the case may be presented to a Casey Circuit Court grand jury when it convenes Feb. 9.

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