SALYERSVILLE – A local man died after a three-vehicle wreck on KY Rt. 114 near the caution lights on Friday evening.
According to the police report, on October 4, law enforcement was called to the scene of the wreck at the junction of KY Rt 114 and U.S. 460 East at approximately 7:42 p.m.
When Kentucky State Police arrived, the operator of the first vehicle was sitting on the ground. Sarah Spurling, 33, of Louisville, driving a 2013 Toyota Avalon, told police she was talking to her daughter on the phone when she took her eyes off the road for a moment, but when she looked up another vehicle was stopped in the road in front of her. She told police she tried to stop, but was unable to do so, inevitably striking the vehicle, a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, driven by Roger Arnett, and knocking him into the opposing lane, striking another vehicle, a 2006 GMC Sierra, operated by Pernell J. Lemaster.
Roger Arnett, 64, of Salyersville, was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries sustained in the collision and was pronounced deceased by Johnson County Deputy Coroner Harry Frisby.
Kentucky State Police Trooper M. McKinney reported in the arrest citation that he could smell a strong odor of alcohol coming from Spurling and noted that she was lethargic and slurring her speech. When asked, she told police she had drank a beer with lunch approximately 5 ½ hours earlier, and failed several of the field sobriety tests.
She was placed under arrest for driving under the influence and police transported her to Paul B. Hall ARH for a chemical test, which she declined, but police obtained a search warrant for her blood to be drawn and blood was taken.
Spurling was then transported to the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center for lodging, but she refused due to her being involved in an accident, so she was taken back to the hospital to be medically cleared before she was transported back to the jail, where she remains at press time. She is facing the charges of operating a motor vehicle under the influence, vehicular homicide when under the influence and first-degree wanton endangerment.
Spurling has a preliminary hearing scheduled in the felony case October 14 at 9:15 a.m. at the Magoffin County Justice Center. She is being held on a $250,000 cash bond. In an arraignment hearing, she pleaded not guilty and was appointed a public defender.
KSP Accident Reconstructionist, Detective James Cress is investigating the collision and was assisted on scene by Kentucky State Police Post 9 personnel.
Editor’s Note: The indictment or charge of a person by a grand jury or otherwise is an accusation only and that person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
