Harrell indicted for deadly wreck
Just a week after being told he will face vehicular homicide charges as an adult, a local teen was indicted for the death of one his passengers in a crash last year.
The defendant, James Nicholas Harrell, now 18, was indicted Friday on charges of vehicular homicide, reckless aggravated assault and consumption of alcohol under the age of 21.
Harrell, who was 17 at the time of the crash last June, was indicted for the death of Shannon M. Green, 16. She was one of six passengers, including Harrell, who were in the defendant’s truck when it slammed into a tree on Fred Hoover Road near Viola. Some of the passengers in the truck said Harrell was traveling 90 mph and attempting to jump hills on the rural road when he lost control.
Investigators with the highway patrol said scientific tests showed Harrell was traveling between 79 and 99 mph and went airborne for nearly 60 feet. Harrell estimated he was traveling just 45 mph.
Juvenile Court Judge Larry Ross, who transferred Harrell to adult court last week, said the testimony of the female passengers in the truck and the troopers were compelling, prompting him to transfer the case. In addition to speed, prosecutors had witnesses who said they saw Harrell drinking beer while he was driving the pickup.
Along with the vehicular homicide charge, Harrell was indicted for the injuries sustained by his other four teen-age passengers. All six occupants, including Harrell, were ejected from the truck when it hit the tree.
With the indictment, Harrell will face arraignment before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley later this month. He could face three to six years in prison on the vehicular homicide charge alone. If tried in juvenile court, the most Harrell could have faced would have been confinement for less than a year until his 19th birthday.