Truck Driver Bail Set at $1.6M in Construction Deaths

By: Susie C. Spear
Source: Winston-Salem Journal, N.C. (TNS)

Appearing with a sling on his left arm, Michael Ray Vernon, the former City of Eden dump truck driver accused of crashing into and killing four linemen in April, made a first appearance in Rockingham County District Court on Wednesday.

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Vernon was in court after being indicted on Monday and charged with four counts of second-degree murder without regard to human life and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury in the case, court records show.

District Judge Erica Standfield Brandon set Vernon’s bail for all charges at $1.6 million on Wednesday. He remains in the Rockingham County Detention Facility in Wentworth, where he has been held since Monday.

Vernon, 66, of Eden, appeared in court via video. He hired attorney Matthew Cockman of Hillsborough to represent him, according to court records.

Asked by the judge if he had questions about his charges, Vernon said, “I don’t know of anything.’’

Indictments were filed on Monday in Rockingham County District Court in Wentworth. The National Transportation Safety Board is continuing its investigation of the case, officials said.

Vernon already faced numerous charges, including four misdemeanor counts of death by motor vehicle, failing to stop for a stop sign and operating a commercial motor vehicle without a valid commercial driver’s license, or CDL.

Investigators said during Vernon’s July pre-trial hearing that Vernon told law enforcement that he lost consciousness before the collision. Investigators said Vernon said he lost consciousness on at least one other occasion before the date of the crash.

The detail emerged as a judge considered whether to admit Vernon’s personnel file into evidence.

An equipment operator with Eden’s Solid Waste Division since 2017, Vernon traveled north on Carroll Street on April 24 toward the intersection with Church Street. He is accused of running a stop sign at the intersection where two utility trucks were parked back-to-back with about five yards between them, investigators said.

Linemen were standing between the trucks, preparing to work on a standing wooden power pole and erect another one, when Vernon’s truck struck the group. Matthew Lockwood, 30, of Winston-Salem; Douglas Garland Sides, 72, of Summerfield; Madison Carter, 42, of Sandy Ridge; and William Evans, 35, of Randleman, all contract linemen for Duke Energy and Fayetteville-based Carolina Power and Signalization Company, died at the scene. Three other workers sustained injuries.

Next, the truck barreled into a parked and occupied bucket truck on Church Street, causing serious injury to the occupant, authorities said.

After the collision, the truck continued across Church Street, over a curb and down an embankment, crashing into a creek, where the cab of the vehicle burst into flames. Vernon, who was treated at an area hospital, sustained minor injuries, authorities said.

The city fired Vernon shortly after the crash.

Vernon’s fatal accident in the city-owned truck marked the seventh crash he’d been involved in while driving a truck on the job, according to the Rockingham County District Attorney’s office. Vernon had also served as a volunteer firefighter who operated engines in Eden for more than a decade, co-workers have said.

Prosecutors had argued since April that the fact that Vernon was involved in a string of work-related accidents before the April 24 crash constitutes intent in the incident.

North Carolina state law defines second-degree murder without regard to human life as an intentional but unplanned killing that results from reckless and malicious acts that show a “depraved heart” or “evil mind.” If Vernon is convicted of the crimes, each count carries a potential prison sentence of 8 to 30 years. Vernon’s three charges of assault with a deadly weapon causing serious injury carry a maximum punishment of seven years, four months each.

Judge Standfield Brandon ordered Vernon to refrain from having any contact with victims of the accident or families of the deceased. She further ordered that Vernon not be allowed to operate as a licensed driver, a request made by prosecutors.

The defendant is scheduled to appear in Rockingham County Superior Court on Jan. 5 for an arraignment, according to court staff.

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