Affidavit: Man had meth, pot in his system before crash that killed teen

A Jackson man is accused of having marijuana and methamphetamine in his system when the box truck he was driving crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a sport utility vehicle, killing a Glenallen, Mo., teenager.

Bobby Joe Abernathy, 34, was arrested Monday on second-degree assault and involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the April 5 crash that killed 17-year-old Amelia Fisher.

Abernathy was driving a Slumberland Furniture truck west on Highway 34 in Cape Girardeau County when it crossed the centerline and collided head-on with the SUV in which Fisher was riding.

The crash injured Abernathy; his passenger, Eric A. Smith of Cape Girardeau; and the SUV driver, Erin Cordell of Marble Hill, Mo.

Fisher was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to a probable-cause statement filed May 19 by trooper Matt Keeney of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Abernathy's passenger, Smith, told a police officer he had been with Abernathy since 8 a.m. the day of the crash and had seen him smoking marijuana with a glass pipe about 30 minutes before the accident.

A blood sample collected from Abernathy after the crash tested positive for marijuana and methamphetamine, Keeney wrote in a supplemental statement filed Aug. 20.

Online records show Abernathy was arrested Monday -- five days after a warrant was issued for his arrest -- and is in the Cape Girardeau County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bond.

Conditions of bond require Abernathy to have a SCRAM alcohol-monitoring device installed; avoid possessing or consuming any intoxicating beverages or illegal drugs of any type; participate in a random drug screening program; stay away from bars, liquor stores or other alcohol-related businesses; stay away from individuals possessing or consuming intoxicating beverages or illegal drugs; submit to blood, breath or urine testing; and use prescription drugs only under a doctor's instruction, online court records show.

He also is barred from operating a motor vehicle or being in the front seat of any motor vehicle.

In late April, Fisher's father, Christian Fisher, filed a wrongful-death suit against Abernathy; his employer, Slumberland Furniture; and Slumberland's parent company, Sleepy Hollow Furniture, court records show.

The lawsuit alleges Abernathy was in possession of illegal narcotics and was "operating the box truck while in an intoxicated and/or drugged condition" at the time of the crash.

Earlier this month, Circuit Judge Benjamin Lewis passed the civil case -- which still is in the discovery process -- to Nov. 4.

Truck driver Jim Henderson of East Prairie, Mo., witnessed the accident.

He said Abernathy had his head down when he came around a curve, crossed over the centerline and nearly ran off the left side of the road before jerking the truck to the right just as Cordell turned to the left to try to avoid him.

"If he'd have went off in the ditch, he'd have never hit them," Henderson said in a telephone interview last month. " ... When he jerked it back, the girls was right there. He was right on them."

Henderson said Abernathy went back to the truck after the crash and removed a cellphone, which he took apart, then reassembled before calling someone.

Keeney found an "obviously extremely distraught" Abernathy on his knees in a ditch after the crash, according to the probable-cause statement. Abernathy told Keeney he was unsure how the crash had occurred, but he said, "The truck pulled to the left," Keeney wrote.

Two witnesses reported seeing the box truck swerving in and out of its lane for a few miles before the crash, Keeney wrote.

As of Tuesday afternoon, no court date had been set for the case, and no lawyer was listed to represent Abernathy on the criminal charges.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Highway 34, Cape Girardeau County, MO