ESCANABA - An Alabama man will be sentenced on three charges next month in connection with a property damage accident involving a car crashing into an Escanaba home.
Justin Wayne Childress, 27, of Albertville, Ala., was arrested on Nov. 4 after he fled from police while driving drunk in a stolen vehicle which he crashed into a house on the 200 block of North 10th Street.
During a plea hearing in Delta County Circuit Court on Thursday, Childress pleaded no contest to the following: operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, second offense, a one-year misdemeanor; unlawfully driving away an automobile, a two-year felony; and a driver fleeing and eluding police, also a two-year felony.
Childress' attorney, Timothy Cain, told the court his client was entering no contest pleas because of his intoxication at the time of the incidents and his lack of memory of what happened.
Prior to the car crashing into the home, Childress allegedly struck a semi truck near Lincoln Road and 3rd Avenue North and then fled the scene, according to a complaint called in to Public Safety.
Officers located the hit-and-run vehicle - a 2004 Pontiac Bonneville - near Ludington Park at 1:13 a.m. When officers pursued the suspect car, the driver fled, leading police on a brief chase with speeds exceeding 70 miles per hour. The chase ended when Childress lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the house.
Childress was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident and was extricated from the car with the Jaws of Life. He was transported to OSF St. Francis Hospital, transferred to Marquette General Hospital, then later discharged to police. He has since been lodged in the Delta County Jail where he remains in lieu of a $25,000 bond.
"This was quite an event that night. There was a lot of damage," commented Judge Stephen Davis during Thursday's court proceeding. Sentencing was set for Feb. 17 in circuit court.
The stolen vehicle was totaled and the house received minimal damage in the crash, according to the police report.
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Jenny Lancour, (906) 786-2021, ext. 143, jlancour@dailypress.net