BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

CATLETTSBURG — An Inez man pleaded not guilty Friday to a charge of vehicular homicide while under the influence in Boyd Circuit Court.

Henry Birchfield, 60, appeared before Judge George Davis via videoconference from the Boyd County Detention Center. His attorney entered the plea on his behalf.

Birchfield turned himself in to police July 29 in Inez after a Boyd County grand jury indicted him on one count of vehicular homicide while under the influence of drugs or other substances.

The charge stems from a two-vehicle crash Jan. 10 that killed 23-year-old Jordan Huff of Huntington.

According to Kentucky State Police, the collision occurred around 8:46 a.m. on U.S. 23 near Crider Road in Catlettsburg. Investigators said Birchfield was driving a 2021 Jeep Gladiator northbound when he disregarded a traffic control device and struck Huff’s 2017 Hyundai Sonata.

Boyd County Coroner Mark Hammond pronounced Huff dead at the scene. Emergency crews transported Birchfield to St. Mary’s Hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Birchfield remains in jail on a $500,000 cash bond. His next court date is Sept. 19 for a pretrial conference.

If convicted, he faces 10 to 20 years in prison.

On July 29, Huff’s family filed a lawsuit against Birchfield in Boyd Circuit Court.