IFN Staff
An Iredell County Superior Court is scheduled to hear additional testimony on Monday in the trial of Austin Ray Harmon, the Statesville man charged with causing a crash that claimed the lives of three people and seriously injured three others.
While testifying on Thursday, Amy Mills told the jury about the events leading up to the crash on Fort Dobbs Road near Statesville on June 13, 2022. The collision claimed the lives of Mills’ fiancé Michael Marlowe, their 5-year-old son Bentley, and Marlowe’s 13-year-old daughter Jada. Mills, her 2-year-old daughter Bailey, and Jada’s friend Teagan Murphy were seriously injured in the crash.
The group was traveling in a golf cart on Fort Dobbs Road around 9:30 p.m., when the golf cart collided with a Honda Accord operated by Harmon, according to trial testimony.
Mills told the jury that she warned her fiancé, who was driving the golf cart, that they were in danger of being hit as she saw the Honda, which was traveling west on Fort Dobbs Road.
“I said, ‘Michael, he’s not turning,’ ” she testified. “It just kept coming.”
Mills said she tossed Bailey, who was riding up front with the couple, from the golf cart in an effort to save her from the impending collision.
“That was my first instinct because she was so little, and I hoped for the best,” Mills testified.
Harmon, 26, is charged with three counts of felony death by motor vehicle, three counts of serious injury by motor vehicle, DWI and reckless driving.
During the first two days of the trial, Assistant District Attorney Mikko Red Arrow called 10 witnesses to the stand, including seven first responders who have testified about the chaotic crash scene and efforts to treat the injured patients. The prosecutor has introduced as evidence an assortment of photos detailing the injuries sustained by the occupants of the golf cart and the reports of paramedics who responded to the scene.
Michael and Bentley were pronounced dead at the scene, and Jada was rushed to Iredell Memorial Hospital because responders did not believe she would survive the 10-minute wait for the emergency helicopter, according to testimony.
Iredell County EMS Paramedic Lindsey Davis told the jury that Mills, who suffered an amputation of her right leg below the knee, multiple fractures to her legs, wrist and back, was flown out first because her injuries were life threatening.
Bailey’s injuries, including broken bones in both legs, were not considered life-threatening. She and Teagan, who sustained a serious head injury, were also airlifted to regional trauma centers.
During cross-examination by the defense team of Kaleigh and Ken Darty, the first responders also remembered seeing a young man — subsequently identified as the defendant — holding Bailey and crying. They did not remember seeing any indications that Harmon was impaired, such as slurred speech or difficulty walking, or the smell of alcohol, according to their testimony. And they did note any signs of impairment in their written reports for the N.C. State Highway Patrol.
During her testimony, Mills described the events of the day of the crash. She and Michael took Bentley and Bailey with them to work at Michael’s auto glass shop during the day as they did regularly when Bentley was not in school.
After work, she said, they went home and picked up Jada and Teagan before driving to Mi Pueblo restaurant on Highway 21 for dinner about 6:30 p.m. Michael ordered a 32-ounce beer, “but he didn’t finish it,” Mills added, and they headed home about 9 p.m., Mills said.
Once they arrived at their home on South Chipley Ford Road, Mills and Bailey decided at the last minute to join Michael, Bentley, Jada and Teagan for a ride in the E-Z Go golf cart, which she said was equipped with functional headlights. The younger kids liked looking at the moon and Teagan enjoyed visiting a house that was under construction, she added.
Bailey was sitting on her lap or in between her and Michael, Mills said, and Bentley was in the back with Jada and Teagan. As they were preparing to turn off Fort Dobbs Road onto Cedar Lake Drive, Mills saw the Honda approaching.
After the crash, Mills said she woke up in the road and thought she was having a dream. She started yelling, calling for help “for what felt like forever.”
The defense team will have an opportunity to cross-examine Mills when the trial resumes Monday morning.
Before sending the jury home on Thursday afternoon, Judge Thomas Lock advised the jury of seven men and five women — and two male alternates — that testimony in the case would be completed this week. The panel will begin deliberations after closing arguments by the attorneys.