MAN CHARGED IN FATAL CRASH

A 41-year-old welder has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and driving without a valid license for his involvement in a traffic accident Wednesday in Cape Girardeau County that killed a co-worker.

John Allen Long was being held Thursday in the Cape Girardeau County Jail in Jackson. Associate Circuit Judge Gary Kamp set bond at $100,000.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said Long was driving while intoxicated at the time of the accident. He said his office had no evidence as to whether the victim, John Michael Endrizzi, 44, had been drinking prior to the crash.

In addition to driving while intoxicated, the involuntary manslaughter charge alleges that Long committed criminal negligence by driving on the wrong side of the road.

Long and Endrizzi appeared to be racing their cars south on Highway 177 near Trail of Tears State Park when the accident occurred, witness Nancy Hobbs told the Missouri Highway Patrol. Long's blue station wagon was traveling south in the northbound lane along side Endrizzi's vehicle.

Hobbs, who lives along Highway 177, said Endrizzi's red Mercury Tracer ran off the road and overturned several times.

Hobbs' husband also saw the crash. Lou Hobbs gave this written account to the Highway Patrol. "I pulled up toward the highway in my driveway and the cars came by very fast and it sounded like they hit each other.

"The red car lost control and overturned and went off the side of the road," said Lou Hobbs.

Highway Patrol officers said Endrizzi's car struck an "Adopt a Highway" sign before overturning. Endrizzi was thrown from the car, which landed on him. The accident occurred at 5:21 p.m.

Endrizzi was airlifted to St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau where he was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m.

Highway Patrol officer Doug McDaniel investigated the accident. In his written report, filed with the court, the officer described Long's appearance and behavior after the accident.

McDaniel said he smelled "a strong odor of intoxicating beverages."

"While Long was standing, he would sway forward and backward. Long's eyes were bloodshot and watery."

McDaniel said he asked Long what happened. "I want my lawyer. Ask John Endrizzi what happened," McDaniel quoted Long as saying. The officer said Long refused to take any field sobriety tests.

"Long had many mood swings, from mad to happy and from happy to mad," McDaniel wrote.

Both Long and Endrizzi listed their home addresses as Decatur, Ill. But the two men had been living in Cape Girardeau and had been arrested for separate traffic violations a year ago, court records show.

Endrizzi was arrested on a Cape Girardeau city charge of driving while intoxicated last April. He later failed to appear in municipal court, records show.

But Cape Girardeau police Cpl. Kevin Orr said the department had no record of any outstanding warrant at the time of Endrizzi's death.

Long was charged with driving without a valid driver's license on West Cape Rock Drive on July 30. The traffic ticket showed his license had been revoked in Illinois. He was fined $69.50.

Both Endrizzi and Long listed their address as 2613 Perryville Road.

Long indicated he worked for Kamtech, a subcontractor involved in construction work at the Procter and Gamble plant north of Cape Girardeau.

Fru-Con, the on-site contractor at the P&G plant, recently hired the two men. Endrizzi was hired last Nov. 11. Long started working for Fru-Con on Feb. 2, company records show.

Both men were welders on the night shift, which begins around 5 p.m. Both had been scheduled to work Wednesday evening, a Fru-Con official said.

Involuntary manslaughter is a class C felony. If convicted, Long could be sentenced to from one to seven years in prison or one day to a year in the county jail; and, or a fine of up to $5,000.

Driving without a valid license carries a range of punishment of up to a year in the county jail or a fine of up to $1,000.

Long appeared in circuit court in Jackson Thursday. The public defender's office has indicated it will represent Long, who is scheduled to appear in court again on Feb. 17.

Long is the eighth defendant to be charged with involuntary manslaughter by the Cape Girardeau County prosecutor's office since Nov. 5, 1988 and the first since Aug. 25, 1998.