| 112th Year, 18th Issue | Thursday, December 14, 2000 | Sparta, North Carolina |
INDEPENDENCE, Va. - A 22-year-old North Carolina man will face a Grayson County grand jury in January on a charge of aggravated involuntary manslaughter in connection with the traffic death of a Grayson County, Va. farmer in September.
Judge James Joines found sufficient evidence on the charge against Judson J. Poe of Topia Road, Piney Creek, N.C. after a preliminary hearing Dec. 5 in Grayson District Court.
An alcohol breath test performed at the Galax Police Department nearly three hours after the 9 a.m. accident showed Poe's blood-alcohol level to be .15, according to a report introduced at the hearing.
A level of .08 is sufficient for a driving under the influence conviction in Virginia.
Grayson Commonwealth Attorney J.D. Bolt declined to prosecute charges of reckless driving and driving under the influence in favor of the greater charge of aggravated manslaughter.
But Poe's attorney, Joe McGrady of Hillsville, said the accident was caused by a blind curve and a slow-moving vehicle - the farm tractor driven by the victim, Gayle Cox Phipps, 56, of Cherrywood Lane, Independence.
The trooper said Poe's first, unofficial statement to him about the accident was that he had hit the back of the tractor.
Anders said it was obvious to him that Poe was under the influence. Joines said he is familiar with the curve where the accident occurred, on U.S. 58 in the Gold Hill community.
Anders said the 1995 Dodge Ram pickup driven by Poe and the 1980 David Brown farm tractor with trailer driven by Phipps were both westbound on 58.
Poe told Anders that he rounded the curve at 50 to 55 mph, saw the slow-moving vehicle in front of him, realized he couldn't stop in time and attempted to pass. The spot is a passing zone.
Poe's truck struck the trailer, barely damaging it. The tractor flipped and one wheel came off. Phipps apparently died instantly. Anders testified that Poe told him he got off work at Independence Lumber Co. at 3 a.m. and went to a friend's house, where he had two or three beers before heading home.
There was no indication that Poe was speeding at the time of the accident.
McGrady also established that neither the tractor nor the wooden farm trailer it was pulling displayed the slow-moving vehicle signs required by law.
The grand jury meets to consider indictments on Jan. 26.
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