A Madisonville man has been charged with vehicular homicide after he hit a man on a bicycle as the month of April started.
Tennessee State Trooper Frank Yates-Matoy said it was around 12:30 a.m. Friday when he was sent to a call of a wreck with a fatality on Old Highway 68 and he arrived to find Jimmy Hugh Daniel, appearing to be intoxicated, was the alleged driver in the accident.
Yates-Matoy said the investigation showed Michael Keith Lunsford was riding a bicycle on the right side of the road when Daniel, “showing a wanton disregard for public safety while driving down the road intoxicated.”
Yates-Matoy said Lunsford died from injuries suffered in the crash.
Yates-Matoy said Daniel had bloodshot eyes, low speech, appeared to be confused and smelled strongly of alcohol.
He said Daniel submitted to a breathalyzer test, which he failed, then performed poorly on field sobriety tests and agreed to a blood-alcohol test at which point Yates-Matoy placed him under arrest.
Yates-Matoy also said a search of Daniel’s Silverado truck turned up a loaded .380 Smith and Wesson handgun in the center console.
Daniel, 68, Cherokee Circle, Madisonville, was charged with vehicular homicide, DUI and possession of a handgun while intoxicated.
