Vehicular homicide and related charges against a Bluff City man were rejected by a Washington County grand jury this week.
The panel returned a “no true bill” in the case against Seth Green, 20, 1161 Old Elizabethton Highway, Bluff City. The charges, vehicular homicide by recklessness and aggravated assault, stemmed from a May 23 wreck that killed Burrell Mitchell, of Johnson City, who was riding a motorcycle that night.
District Attorney General Tony Clark said Green will still have to appear in Criminal Court later this month to officially learn what the grand jury decided.
The wreck occurred at one of the city’s intersections equipped with red light enforcement cameras. Initially, police did not think there was a video available because the night of the crash the camera was not working.
Ultimately, the company that operates the camera, Redflex, was able to retrieve a video that recorded the wreck.
“In looking at the video, two motorcycles were coming from that direction. One slowed down and one did not. The motorcycle caught toward the bed of the truck,” Clark said.
“Initially, the information was that car made left-hand turn in front of a motorcycle and someone was killed. They went ahead and placed charges based on a reckless act,” he said.
According to the investigation, Green was making a left turn from State of Franklin Road onto West Walnut Street. He had a green light but turned in front of two motorcycles coming from the other direction.
The speed limit on that part of State of Franklin is 40 mph, according to Clark, and the investigation showed Mitchell ws traveling 60 mph.
“The assessment was that the person on the motorcycle was going over the speed limit and never slowed down when approaching that intersection. Does he have to do that? No … there was no indication at all he made an attempt to brake, stop or swerve,” Clark said.
Sometime after police charged Green, they were able to obtain the video and “after we got the blood alcohol on everyone involved ... there was a change of opinion on culpability.”
According to information released earlier in the investigation, Mitchell had been drinking, which officials said would have slowed his reaction time. No drugs or alcohol were found in Green’s system, officials said.
Green waived his preliminary hearing in October and sent the case to a grand jury without hearing any evidence at that time.
“I’m not saying I agree or disagree with the decision they make. That’s how our system works. We take every single death seriously ... but not every single (crash) death is vehicular homicide. Our hearts go out to the family. They’ve lost someone,” Clark said.
Amare Delectare writes:
November 8, 2012
10:43 PM
I agree. Thank goodness for the camera(s).
Remove Money from Politics writes:
November 9, 2012
12:14 AM
Hate to say it but the red light cameras actually did something good for once.
ladivolfan writes:
November 9, 2012
5:21 AM
This shouldn't have even made it to the grand jury.
jcresident writes:
November 9, 2012
6:06 AM
ladivolfan, I agree. If the grand jury had indicted him, Tony Clark would have gone forward with a trial and try to convict this man. Thank goodness for a grand jury, Tony Clark looks like a very cold and irrational person in this case. With the discretion that he has, why would you even bring this up to a grand jury?
Alan94 writes:
November 9, 2012
1:45 PM
Jc resident..I respectfully disagree with you assessment only because I work in law enforcement...this was a tragic accident and everyone involved has suffered...however Mr. Green was charged by the JC police department..not the DAs office...mr green waived his charge to the grand jury....he has a right to have his case heard by them and that was his choice....I have worked with general Clark for several years and while I do not always agree with all he does he tries to make the right call...this case was charged on what the the police had at the time....when the investigation was completed...everything was presented to the grand jury...where the DA was called in to answer questions....to say he would have done this or that.....or that he was cold and irrational...in my opinion....is not warranted....it is very easy...even for us in law enforcement to criticize.....other law enforcement....DAs...judges...ect....but try standing in our shoes or theirs....the real system is not CSI or Law and Order...God Bless all of these families....
bippi00us writes:
November 9, 2012
3:49 PM
I'm sorry i disagree with these comments also. I agree with Amy, Mr. greene failed to yield the right of way, and in the process took the life of a very wonderful and caring man. Because of his negliegence 6 chilgren are left without their father and grandchildren are left without their grandfather. I personally think justice needs to be served and Mr. greene needs to pay for what he did. So because of someone else's carelessness a family is suffering.... Dont't know what's wrong with the justice system these days
Candiealtizer writes:
November 9, 2012
3:55 PM
You know everyone has opinions and I bet if this was your uncle you would feel different. Me I hope the boy has nightmares for the rest of his life knowing he killed a father, brother, son, uncle, and a best friend.... Just cause he was speeding and drinking gives the court the reason to throw it out well I say forget that. If it would have been flipped Gene would have rooted in jail. But karma is a witch so good luck....
Drake writes:
November 9, 2012
5:58 PM
exactly amy, i know several law officers in that area and have had a case similar to this i went threw my self and he should have been convicted for not yielding if he was turning across there path way he should have waited till they passed and then turned. i caint believe the grand jury let that slide because alcohol was found in mitchel's system that is not what made seth turn in front of him and had nothing to do with green hitting him. green not yielding right of way is what caused the wreck but all anyone wants to see is the alcohol and that is enough to let someone walk away on causing a death i guess these days. its sad how a prejudice justice system can work when you let it go with out being checked. maybe the next time elections come around a clean sweep of judges and sheriffs might help straighten things out a lil bit. i think the officers on scene that charged green was right from the beginning and those charges should have stuck. i think its jus a shame that a life had to be lost because some careless kid wasn't paying attention to the road and gets a free pass for it. i think that DA needs to take a step back and rework this case to make the charges stand a lil better and have a retrial if he is let free.
amy74 writes:
November 9, 2012
7:22 PM
Drake. You are absolutely right and thank you for seeing my point.
julie mitchell writes:
November 10, 2012
8:58 AM
I belive Seth will have his judgment day, Gene belive in our God. Judgemnt day will prevell.
venturous writes:
November 10, 2012
7:22 PM
As a motorcyclist that has put 135,000 miles on my bike in the last 16 years, I can tell you that someone turning across in front of you is about as bad as it gets and is the the one that is the most difficult to try to miss. It is also very frustrating when someone is too impatient to wait just a few seconds to let someone pass when it could be close and I have seen this many times.
One of the problems with riding a motorcycle at night is it is more difficult to tell how how fast a motorcycle is approaching. When a car is approaching with two headlights, it is easier to determine how quickly the the car is getting to you as the lights get wider apart. A motorcycle with one headlight, even with running or fog lights, make it even more difficult to determine approaching speed. That is why all of us need to be more careful when seeing a single light approaching.
Another lesson for all of us to learn here is if you have had a couple of drinks that may have little effect on you driving abilities, it could still impact the way a jury looks at your contribution to a crash, and, the same thing goes for speeding, especially at night. This is a sad situation for all involved and I hope that something can be learned from it.
justice*for*gene writes:
November 10, 2012
9:13 PM
Today I placed an angel on your grave,
because your life we could not save.
I read your name etched in stone,
but still I cant believe your really gone.
It isnt fair that you will never walk your girls down the isle
or ride you harley with your brothers another mile.
Your boys are making you proud and will carry on the Mitchell name
but now that you are gone no one will ever be the same.
All because of one careless boy,
we can no longer share with you our joy.
Nov 16th how he will pay for taking such a precious life away
Either way he will have to answer to God on judgement day.
Legands never die this I know is true
as long as their memory lives inside you.
Still it is hard to believe this is what God had planned
and even more hard to understand.
So until we meet again my friend
I love you and miss you "The End"
justice*for*gene writes:
November 10, 2012
10:35 PM
Well considering that yesterday a man brought up the sex offender registry that is why i defended why he was on it! however they must have removed his post! Secondly his children and I are in contact this very minute planning to rally for justice to be served. so i am pretty sure i have their complete support! However i no longer wish to play back and forth games. the facts are the facts seth green seen gene mitchell for at least 9 seconds and still failed to yeild the right of way! He pulled out in front of gene and took a his life to soon! Regardless of what Gene looked like or what he done in the past he didnt deserve to have his life taken! And his children didnt deserve to have their father taken away from them. Therefore because of Seth Greens careless behaivor he should receive some sort of punishment so that justice can be served and everyone that loved him can have closure. Also I dont think I by no means drug his name down instead I explaining that sometimes things are not always what that seem. they he was not on there because he was a horrible person. Like I said before Genes children family members as well as myself will ralley for justice on the 16th because that is what is right. I really hope that no one else ever has to endure a unexpected loss such as Gene's and then have to fight to have true justice served. I will be sure to let the kids know about this so they can read it and let you know how they feel about me since it is so important to you!
justice*for*gene writes:
November 10, 2012
11:22 PM
Thanks Ty
julie mitchell writes:
November 11, 2012
5:44 PM
You have to yield a left turn on a green ball, not shoot out infront of the person coming down the road