Two racers face murder charges in Smokies crash

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. — Two young men were arraigned on federal murder charges after racing through Great Smoky Mountains National Park at up to 100 mph and crashing into a car of Virginia vacationers, killing five people in the park’s single deadliest wreck.

Jonathan Matthew Hall, 19, of Lebanon, and Steven A. Williams, 20, of Murfreesboro, each face five counts of second-degree murder and a possible life sentence if convicted.

U.S. Magistrate Clifford Shirley on Monday set their trial for March 29.

Hall, arrested by the U.S. Marshal Service on Jan. 6, was being held without bond. Williams, who turned himself in Monday and was released on bond, is now a U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky.

The March 26 collision occurred at 10 p.m. — a Saturday night — along the twisting stretch of U.S. Highway 441 known as “the Spur” linking the tourist towns of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

In a Jan. 17 detention order, U.S. Magistrate Joe B. Brown of Nashville wrote that Hall and a friend had gone to Gatlinburg to party — Hall allegedly was drinking and admitted smoking marijuana about an hour before the collision.

“While there, another car had stopped beside them at a traffic light. Apparently there was some revving of the engines and the defendant and the other driver began to race,” the magistrate wrote.

Hall and Williams reached at least 85 mph — some witnesses said closer to 100 mph — before Hall’s car slammed broadside into the Virginians’ car, driven by Myra Nelson, as it crossed an intersection. Williams’ car narrowly missed.

Killed instantly were Nelson, 64; her husband, George Nelson, 80; her mother, Audrey Fentress, 84, all of Chesapeake, Va.; and Anthony Dietz, 70, and his wife, Betty Dietz, age unavailable, of Virginia Beach, Va. Hall and his passenger were not seriously hurt.

Brown wrote that “it did not appear that the two racing drivers knew each other.”

“Speeding is a very serious problem on the Spur and drag racing, in particular, creates a very hazardous environment, endangering the lives of not only those breaking the law but also innocent motorists such as in this case,” Smokies Superintendent Dale Ditmanson said Wednesday.

“Criminal conduct of this sort will not be tolerated within the confines of our national parks and will be aggressively pursued,” Acting U.S. Attorney Russ Dedrick said.