IFN Staff

An N.C. State Highway Patrol trooper testified Monday that Austin Ray Harmon was legally impaired when his Honda Accord crossed the center line on Fort Dobbs Road near Statesville and struck a golf cart, fatally injuring three people and seriously injuring three others.

At the scene of the deadly crash on June 13, 2022, Harmon admitted he drank “three or four beers” while he was fishing a few hours earlier, Trooper Allen Frye told an Iredell County Superior Court jury.

After the trooper found a 12-pack of Busch Ice in Harmon’s vehicle, he asked the defendant to consent to a breath test for alcohol, which came back positive, Frye testified. After completing a series of field sobriety tests, the trooper arrested Harmon, charged him with DWI and transported him to the Iredell County Detention Center.

An analysis of blood drawn from Harmon at the Magistrate’s Office indicated that the defendant had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.12, which is above the legal limit of 0.08, Frye told the jury. The State Crime lab also found that Harmon had traces of a prescription painkiller and THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his blood, the trooper said.

The crash, which occurred about 9:30 p.m., claimed the lives of Michael Marlowe, who was driving the golf cart, along with his 5-year-old son Bentley and 13-year-old daughter Jada. Marlowe’s fiancée, Amy Mills, their 2-year-old daughter Bailey, and a 16-year-old family friend, Teagan Murphy, were seriously injured.

In addition to DWI, Harmon, 26, is charged with three counts of felony death by motor vehicle, three counts of serious injury by motor vehicle, and reckless driving.

Monday was the third day of witness testimony in the trial, which is expected to conclude this week.

During his cross-examination of the trooper, defense attorney Ken Darty introduced a tape of Harmon’s 9-1-1 call as evidence and played it for the jury of seven men and five women and two alternates.

“I was driving down Fort Dobbs Road and there was a golf cart on the side of the road and I hit it,” the defendant told the emergency telecommunicator at the beginning of the six-plus minute call. “They were on my side (of the road) and I didn’t see them. They literally came out of the grass.

“Oh my God! There’s a baby!” he added seconds later. “God, Almighty!”

While at the scene of the crash, Harmon also provided a written statement in which he said the golf cart pulled out in front of him and he attempted to avoid hitting it, the trooper said during questioning from Assistant District Attorney Mikko Red Arrow.

Evidence at the scene, including gauge marks and motor vehicle fluid in the road, indicated that Harmon’s westbound Honda crossed the center line, traveled into the eastbound land and collided with the golf cart, and continued in the eastbound lane some distance before returning to the westbound land and coming to a stop, Frye told the jury.

While he did not challenge the results of the blood alcohol test, Ken Darty did raise questions about the magnitude of Harmon’s impairment. The trooper testified that he did not smell alcohol on the defendant’s breath, Harmon’s speech was not slurred, and he did not see him stumble. However, Harmon did sway during the field sobriety test, and it took him four attempts to successfully complete the breath test, Frye said.

The day began with lead defense attorney Kaleigh Darty’s extensive cross-examination of Mills about the events on the day leading up to the crash, including Michael Marlowe’s consumption of alcohol at dinner. She also questioned Mills about the golf cart’s road worthiness and its lack of safety features.

The E-Z Go cart was not registered for use on public roads, did not have doors, seat belts, brake lights, turn signals, or mirrors.

The golf cart did have headlights, which Mills said were operational at the time of the crash. When driving the vehicle on the road, Michael was extremely cautious, she said.

Mills was also adamant that they were traveling east in the eastbound lane when the Honda crashed into the golf cart.

“The headlights was coming directly at us,” Mills testified. “It looked like he was in our lane.”

At one point during Mills’ testimony, Kaleigh Darty asked Judge Thomas Lock to have Teagan Murphy’s mother, Savannah Boltz, who testified last week, removed from the courtroom after accusing her of mouthing answers to Mills. The judge took no action on the request, explaining he had not seen the conduct that the defense attorney described.

Defense attorney Ken Darty also told the judge that there was clear evidence that witnesses who testified earlier in the trial had discussed their testimony with Mills before she testified — in violation of a court order. The judge reminded witnesses not to discuss their testimony.

The final witness on Monday was Luis Perez, the bartender at Mi Pueblo restaurant, who testified that he served Michael Marlowe a 32-ounce beer while the family was eating dinner there on the evening of the crash. Echoing the testimony of Teagan Murphy and Amy Mills, the bartender said Marlowe did not finish the beer.

During cross-examination by Ken Darty, Perez admitted he had discussed his testimony with the prosecutor and Mills in the weeks leading up to the trial.

Before the trial recessed for the day on Monday, the prosecutor told Judge Lock that he planned to conclude the state’s case by Wednesday. Testimony was scheduled to resume Tuesday morning.