Charges filed against driver in Bricks incident

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Assault charges were filed Tuesday morning against a June patron of Brick's Off Road Park, who allegedly was intoxicated when his pickup truck ran a stop sign and struck a local woman's car, leaving her paralyzed.

Jeremy S. Sykes, who was among the estimated 14,000 to 15,000 people at the park's Trucks Gone Wild event June 4 to 7, was charged with two felonies of second-degree assault by Butler County assistant prosecuting attorney Ted Thompson.

A warrant was issued for the 34-year-old Dyersburg, Tennessee, man, whose bond will be set at $30,000 cash or surety when he is arrested.

The complaint filed with the court alleges that on June 5, Sykes was driving under the influence and was criminally negligent when he failed to stop at a stop sign and collided with a vehicle driven by Lori S. Garner.

Garner, 50, of Poplar Bluff was seriously injured in the crash, which left her a quadriplegic.

The second count accuses Sykes of causing physical injury to Becky Farrow, who was a passenger in his vehicle. The 46-year-old Dyersburg woman also was seriously injured in the crash.

The accident occurred at about 5:45 p.m. June 5 at the intersection of Route F and County Road 484 and was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

When patrol Sgt. Randy Dye arrived at the scene, he reportedly found a 2007 Chevrolet pickup off the east side of Route F on its side.

"There was a male and a female lying in the ditch in front of the truck, with apparent injuries to their face and head area," Dye said in his probable-cause statement.

The man and woman were identified as Sykes and Farrow.

Dye said he also found a 2010 Kia Optima on the east side of the road.

The driver, identified as Garner, was "being assisted by a citizen ... by stabilizing her neck and head, until paramedics took over," Dye said.

The initial investigation, according to Dye, indicated the Chevrolet truck was eastbound on County Road 484, while the Kia was northbound on Route F.

"The Chevrolet truck apparently failed to stop at the stop sign on County Road (484) and pulled into the path of the Kia passenger car," Dye said.

Farrow, Dye said, reported she was not driving the truck at the time of the crash.

"Sykes stated he was not driving as well, but when I told him Farrow said she was not driving the truck and that left him as the driver, Sykes stated: 'OK,'" Dye said. "While talking with Sykes, I could smell a very strong odor of intoxicants on his breath.

"His speech was also very slurred and confused."

When Dye asked Sykes if he had been drinking, "he stated, 'Yeah, earlier,'" Dye said.