Accident Reconstruction Network > News > November 2005 > 11/16/05

Accident Reconstruction News Article

Five seconds before crashing into the back of a Buick Park Avenue on Sept. 16, 2004, Justin Jones was driving 97 miles per hour on Highway 144 in his four-wheel-drive pickup, district attorney Rob Christian told a Hood County jury Tuesday.

In his opening statement, Christian told the three-man, nine-woman jury that Jones’ blood alcohol level measured .291 an hour after the accident that killed a Granbury woman riding in the back seat of the Buick.

“That’s more than three times the legal limit allowed in the State of Texas,” Christian said.

Jones, 28, of Granbury, is facing a sentence ranging from two years’ probation up to 20 years in the penitentiary with a $10,000 fine if found guilty of manslaughter in the death of Joy Henshaw, 42, of Granbury.

Defense attorney Tim Evans told the jury, “This is a tale of two tragedies. The loss of a life and the future of another.”

Evans said that Jones graduated from Granbury High School in 1996 and lives next door to his parents on Contrary Creek Road.

Evans told the jury, “You’re going to learn about his work habits, his work ethic. He does the job right and doesn’t cut corners. He’s honest and reliable.”

In a lengthy opening statement, Evans described several events prior to the deadly crash on the Highway 144 lake bridge, near Pier 144 Marina.

Evans said that Jones and his girlfriend were having a rare “night out.” After going out for a drink and to eat at a Granbury restaurant, the couple later were drinking and celebrating at a nightspot on Highway 4. The pair had a disagreement and Jones left in his truck, according to Evans.

“He went up 4, across 377 and down 144, well in excess of the speed limits,” Evans said. “But when a police officer came up to his vehicle after the wreck, Justin said, ‘I did it, I’m guilty.’ He took responsibility for what he did.”

Ralph Cooper Jr., currently incarcerated in the Hood County Jail on pending drug charges, testified for the prosecution. Cooper said that he and Henshaw had been together about five years and were considered “husband and wife.”

On the night of the accident, Cooper said that he picked up Henshaw from her job at Wal-Mart around 8 p.m. “We were going to look at houses,” he stated.

The couple later experienced car trouble on Highway 51 north of Granbury, and walked into town, Cooper said. “We called my mother and she came and picked us up to give us a ride home.”

When traveling south on Highway 144 in his mother’s Buick, Cooper said he felt an impact after going through the traffic light by McKelvey’s (Pier 144). “The next thing I knew, I was at (Lake Granbury Medical Center),” Cooper said.

An emotional Shirley Fisher recalled the night she picked up her son and daughter-in-law, Cooper and Henshaw, after they experienced car trouble.

“The truck hit me (my car) on the right back. I didn’t realize what happened. I thought I could steer it, but I couldn’t,” Fisher said.

When the car was moving out of control, Fisher said she was afraid they would go through the guardrail and into the lake.

After the Buick came to rest, Fisher said she tried to shake Ralph trying to get him out of the car.

“Joy was in the back seat and I kept trying to get her to wake up. When I couldn’t get her to wake up, I started to figure out that she might be gone.”

Testimony from a medical technologist and an emergency room doctor, both from Harris Hospital, showed Jones’ toxicology report determined a blood alcohol level of .291.

Christian noted a statement on the toxicology report showing that a blood alcohol level of .100 may be intoxicated and a level of .300 may be associated with a coma.

Jones was admitted to Harris Hospital following the collision with broken ribs and facial lacerations.

Christian later called an “expert witness” to testify the truck was likely traveling 97 mph five seconds before ramming the back of the Buick on the bridge.

Timothy Lovett, of Crash Dynamics, explained how the accident had been reconstructed during law enforcement’s investigation.

Lovett told how the airbag control module (ACM) was recovered on Jones’ pickup to provide information regarding the speed of the vehicle prior to the crash.

According to the crash data retrieval report, the pickup was traveling 97 mph five seconds before the impact and 89 mph one second before impact.

Taking measurements at the scene and using the “classic” reconstruction method, officers estimated the Buick was traveling 43 mph at the time of impact, and the pickup was traveling 82 mph, Lovett said.

“This is the same as the ACM calculates.”

The speed limit on the bridge is 45 mph.

A former Granbury police officer testified for the prosecution regarding a previous DWI arrest of Jones.

Evans was expected to present witnesses for the defense as the trial continued.

Debbie Schneider can be reached at (817) 573-7066, ext. 258, or e-mail dschneider@hcnews.com

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