BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — A Martin County man and woman face felony charges after a crash left two unrestrained children injured—one seriously—on Route 40 in Inez.
Authorities say 37-year-old Justin Marcum of Inez was driving recklessly with the children in his Chevrolet truck. The children’s grandmother, 58-year-old Dotty Fletcher of Inez, was not in the truck. However, police say she endangered the children by allowing Marcum to transport them without a driver’s license and proper safety restraints and against a court order.
The crash occurred around 3:15 p.m. Nov. 15 on Route 40 in Inez in front of the football field. It has since drawn scrutiny over a chain of decisions that police say led to the injuries and criminal charges. Investigators determined neither child was in a child restraint device or wearing a seat belt during the crash.
According to witnesses, Marcum pulled onto Route 40 into oncoming traffic, cutting off vehicles and swerving wildly before crashing into a rock wall. The truck overturned on impact.
Emergency responders extricated the children from the wreckage before Martin County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Chris Kidd arrived. The officer found Marcum lying on the passenger side of the vehicle.
Emergency personnel transported all three to a Prestonsburg hospital. Later, medical personnel transferred one child to the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington for a head injury.
Deputy Kidd’s investigation revealed that Marcum was driving on a suspended license. He now faces multiple charges: first-degree wanton endangerment, operating on a suspended license, failure to use a child restraint device in a vehicle, careless driving, and failure to wear a seat belt.
Fletcher became a focus of the investigation after she admitted to allowing Marcum to drive the children. She told police she knowingly disregarded a court order barring Marcum from being alone with his juvenile daughter. Fletcher said she allowed Marcum to drive the children to McDonald’s because she was in a rush for a doctor’s appointment.
She admitted she knew the children were not in child restraints, describing her decision as a “mistake,” the deputy said.
Police charged Fletcher with first-degree wanton endangerment for her role in the events leading up to the crash.