From: Platte County Prosecuting Attorney "Eric Zahnd"
Date: Februrary 19, 2010
Subject: Man pleads guilty to vehicular death
A Liberty man pled guilty February 18 to killing one man and injuring two others after he hit them with his vehicle before fleeing the scene. Jack A. Martin, 23, hit the people following a fight in Northmoor, leaving one man dead, while two others were sent to the hospital for their injuries.
Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said, “This is a tragic case where the defendant and a large group of people met for a fight, and one person ended up dead because of the defendant’s reckless actions. People need to stop and think about how acts taken in a split second can change their lives forever.”
According to Zahnd, on September 6, 2009 at approximately 2:00 a.m., several people met at an area on Frontier Street in Northmoor, and an altercation occurred. Following the altercation, Martin left in his Jeep Cherokee and passed by a group of pedestrians walking on the street. |
Jack Martin
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Apparently believing the fight to be starting again, Martin then turned his vehicle around and returned up the street at a high rate of speed. Accident reconstruction experts from the Missouri State Highway Patrol determined Martin’s Jeep traveled at approximately 49 miles per hour. The speed limit on Frontier Street is 25 miles per hour.
As Martin approached the group of pedestrians again, he did not steer away and hit three of them. One man died at the scene, another suffered serious physical injuries requiring surgery, and a third suffered a shoulder injury and had several teeth knocked out. Martin left the area immediately.
Martin faces a maximum of 19 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 8, 2010.
The case was investigated by Missouri State Highway Patrol and Northmoor Police Department. It was prosecuted by First Assistant Prosecutor Mark Gibson and Assistant Prosecutor Jaclyn Taylor.
Eric G. Zahnd
Platte County Prosecuting Attorney
415 Third Street
Suite 60
Platte City, Missouri 64079
(816) 858-3476
(816) 858-3472 (fax)
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