Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 24, 1992 TAG: 9201240402
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
DEATHS BLAMED ON RACERS
A drunken Keith Charles McCrickard was drag racing down Starkey Road when his car slammed into an oncoming car, killing a Roanoke County woman and her 17-year-old daughter, a lawsuit claims.The suit was filed Thursday in Roanoke County Circuit Court, shortly after McCrickard pleaded no contest to two charges of involuntary manslaughter.
In an unusual allegation, the $2 million lawsuit blames not just McCrickard's reckless driving for the two deaths but also a friend who challenged him to the race.
McCrickard, 23, faces up to 20 years in prison for the deaths of Betty J. Stanley, 51, and her daughter Elizabeth, who was a freshman at Roanoke College.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Bill Broadhurst said McCrickard had drunk so much beer that he was staggering and slurring his words when he climbed into his car and headed down Starkey Road the night of Sept. 7.
Seconds later, the Stanleys' station wagon was hit head-on by McCrickard's car, which was speeding around a blind curve in the wrong lane.
Although no mention of drag racing was made during a hearing to accept McCrickard's no-contest pleas, that allegation - along with his "reputation" for driving drunk and racing fast cars - was raised in the lawsuit.
The suit, filed by Roanoke lawyers David Damico and Jonathan Apgar on behalf of the Stanley family, also names Willard Keith Shephard, a friend of McCrickard's.
The suit claims Shephard should have known McCrickard was intoxicated as they worked on cars together at a garage the night of the fatal accident.
But as they left the garage, the suit claims, Shephard revved the engine of his car and squealed out of the parking lot, spraying gravel and leaving McCrickard in a cloud of smoke.
The suit claims that Shephard should have realized that McCrickard would interpret such action as an invitation to race - especially given his reputation for racing and driving out of control.
Seconds later, McCrickard passed Shephard at a speed estimated as high as 80 mph, then headed into the curve where the accident happened.
In summarizing the evidence against McCrickard in the criminal case, Broadhurst said he had a blood-alcohol content of nearly 0.15 percent, well over the legal limit of 0.10 percent. McCrickard was so intoxicated that night that a convenience store clerk refused to sell him beer when he returned to buy a third 12-pack.
Since the accident, McCrickard has been unable to remember any details - apparently because he blacked out, said his attorney, Deborah Caldwell-Bono.
McCrickard was allowed to remain free on bond until he is sentenced in March.
But he was ordered to hand over his driver's license before he walked from the courtroom - still limping, apparently from injuries he suffered in the accident.
Keywords:
FATALITY