Warfield
A Franklin man is facing four operating while intoxicated charges after police say he left the roadway and hit a utility pole and trees, killing one passenger and severely injuring another.
Jesse E. Warfield, 27, is facing Level 4 Felony charges for OWI causing death and OWI causing death with an ACE of .08 or more, along with Level 5 Felony charges for OWI causing severe injury and OWI causing severe injury with an ACE of .08 or more.
The crash was reported at 4:44 a.m. on April 22 in the 6600 block of East County Road 400 South, Franklin. Charges were filed Wednesday and he was arrested on a warrant the same day, Johnson County Superior Court 2 and jail records show.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and Amity Fire Department were dispatched to the scene and found a Dodge Grand Caravan with all wheels up resting against a tree, with a power line down nearby, a photo of the crashed car shows.
Three people were in the vehicle, including the driver, which police believe was Warfield. Also in the car was his brother, who was seriously injured, and Kaylarees R. Rutherford, 20, of Franklin, who was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a press release issued by the sheriff’s office in April.
In interviews with people familiar with the situation that night, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office learned the three left Warfield’s trailer to go on a late-night cruise. When they left the trailer Rutherford was driving, the probable cause affidavit says.
While they were out, they stopped at the Circle K on Morton Street. Surveillance footage shows the occupants exiting the vehicle and going inside the convenience store. When there was what appears to be an argument, after which Rutherford got into the driver’s seat again and drove across U.S. 31 to the Speedway, the affidavit says.
The vehicle then stops and someone gets out and then enters the vehicle on the driver’s side. The video from Speedway does not give a conclusive answer to who entered the driver seat, as the camera pointed at the other side of the vehicle, the affidavit says.
Investigators believe a different driver took over as there was a change in driving behavior from when the vehicle pulled into Circle K and out of the Speedway. The driver leaving Speedway took off “abruptly and rapidly,” whereas Rutherford had taken off more slowly, the affidavit says.
A family member told deputies it was unlikely Warfield’s brother had been driving due to his eyesight. First responders located him in the front passenger side of the vehicle tangled up in the seat beat upon arrival at the scene, the affidavit says.
Rutherford was trapped in the backseat of the van, while Warfield was ejected through the sunroof of the van and was found kneeling by the vehicle when first responders arrived, the affidavit says.
A medical examination of Warfield’s injuries showed they were consistent with being in the driver’s seat during a crash of this type. A blood draw indicated his blood alcohol concentration was .225, the affidavit says.
Crash reconstruction indicates the vehicle was traveling east on County Road 400 South when it hit a rise in the road and went almost airborne at a high rate of speed. The vehicle’s undercarriage hit the pavement upon landing and then bounced, causing two gouge marks in the pavement. The vehicle then drifted to the right and Warfield over-corrected to the left, causing him to lose control of the vehicle, the affidavit says.
While all of this was happening, deputies estimate the van was traveling no less than 89.3 mph, the affidavit says.
When the vehicle left the roadway, it collided with a utility pole, and the car rolled over on the passenger side, the vehicle then continued forward and snapped small trees before hitting a large one, which stopped the vehicle’s motion. This caused Warfield, who wasn’t wearing a seat belt, to be pushed through the sunroof, while the back seat compartment where Rutherford was sitting was crushed, the affidavit says.
An initial hearing was held for Warfield Thursday and he entered a plea of not guilty.
