Driver Charged In Decapitation Death

[Ben E Lou]

Cobb driver charged after decapitated body found in truck

By SAEED AHMED, BRENDEN SAGER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/30/04



A Marietta man left a bar early Sunday morning, got into an accident that decapitated the passenger in his pickup truck, then drove several miles home and went to sleep — leaving his pickup truck parked overnight in his driveway with the body of his friend hanging out the passenger side window, Cobb County police said.

Police said John Kemper Hutcherson, 21, of Marietta drove off a road soon after leaving a bar about midnight and hit a support wire to a telephone pole. The guide wire severed the head of his friend, Francis Daniel Brohm, 23, of Marietta.



Hutcherson then drove 12 miles to his home on Fox Hound Chase, where police found him Sunday morning in blood-splattered clothes.

"It's hard for one to imagine that you would drive [several] miles from a crash site to your home, turning in various directions, and yet not know what has happened to a passenger sitting next to you in your vehicle," said Cobb police Cpl. Dana Pierce.

A neighbor out on a stroll with his 1-year-old daughter called authorities after discovering the headless body in the parked truck about 8 a.m.

Hutcherson was charged with first-degree vehicular homicide, driving under the influence, failure to stop at an accident with death or injury and failure to maintain lanes. He remained in the Cobb County Jail on Sunday night, held on $10,000 bond.

Police said that before the two friends got to Runaround Sue's in Marietta late Saturday night, they had been at a house where they had gathered to watch a televised NASCAR event. Brohm's father, Dan Brohm, said that Brohm was a mechanic who worked late on Saturdays and then met up with friends sometimes.

Police don't know how long the friends were at the bar but said the two left after Brohm felt sick.

Less than a mile and half from the bar, the pickup truck ran off Canton Road, traveled about 10 feet and hit the guide wire.

Investigators have not yet determined how fast the truck was going. Police would not say why Brohm was hanging out the passenger-side window when he was struck.

After the accident, police said, Hutcherson's route home took him through a commercial and industrial district that changed to dark, narrow winding roads before reaching the two-story Colonial house where he lives with his mother and sister. He parked the 1992 Chevrolet Z-71 in the driveway to the house's two-car garage.

Except for the body in the passenger seat, the only thing amiss was the passenger-side mirror, which had been sheared off in the accident.

Later that morning, police found the severed head at the crash site on Canton Road.

Pierce would not say how Hutcherson explained the headless body in his truck.

Robert Gladstone, 61, who lives a few doors down from Hutcherson's house and describes him as "a fine fellow," said residents were shocked when they saw the police and the white sheet over the body in the truck.

"But as the day progressed and we found out more and more, my wife and I were in utter disbelief," he said. "It was beyond our imagination."

The owner of Runaround Sue's said Sunday that the bar offers a courtesy van to take home intoxicated patrons. Before customers are allowed to enter, bar personnel check to see if they are inebriated, and the staff continues to monitor patrons' alcohol intake throughout the night, said owner David Ulmer.

"To my knowledge, these people weren't served alcohol at Runaround Sue's," Ulmer said. "It's unfortunate that we may have been the last stop they made before this horrendous incident."

Brohm's father described Francis — Frankie to the family — as a fun-loving person who had been friends with Hutcherson since high school.

"He was a very outgoing person who was very close with his friends and very close with his [two] sisters," Dan Brohm said.

Next-door neighbor James Q. Collier, a retired engineer from Lockheed, said he has known Hutcherson for almost 20 years. When Collier was laid up because of an ulcer a few years ago, Hutcherson would come by to help with household chores, he said.

"It sounds awful, I'm sorry for both families," Collier said. "That kid has never been any problem."

— Staff researcher Joni Zeccola contributed to this article.

[Draft Dodger]

I bet this Hutcherson guy was a big fan of Dwayne Goodrich.

[QuikSand]

Hutcherson was charged with first-degree vehicular homicide, driving under the influence, failure to stop at an accident with death or injury and failure to maintain lanes.

Maybe it's me... but doesn't that third charge seem a little much?

Homicide... check. DUI...check. Don't forget "failure to maintain lanes" - he'll never see the light of day!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Why do I have the feeling the words "Hey ya'll, watch this" were involved somewhere along the way?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Why do I have the feeling the words "Hey ya'll, watch this" were involved somewhere along the way?

Nah. I'm guessing they were both blitzed out of their minds. Passenger has his head out the window, puking, and driver swerves at an inopportune time, hits wire, and there ya have it.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Maybe it's me... but doesn't that third charge seem a little much?

Homicide... check. DUI...check. Don't forget "failure to maintain lanes" - he'll never see the light of day!

That was the first thing that jumped out to me as well.

[cody8200]

yep the lane charge is simply ridiculous.

[33sherman]

head out the window = barfing

[JeeberD]

I'm glad that my girlfriend can drive better than that guy.

I've had to hang my head out of the window at least a couple of times...

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Maybe it's me... but doesn't that third charge seem a little much?

Homicide... check. DUI...check. Don't forget "failure to maintain lanes" - he'll never see the light of day!

actually a somewhat common charge from what i know and hear from being on the road and keeping up with truck accidents and such. not sure why they do it, just going by the book i guess......

[Anthony]

"not a time to lose one's head"

-Austin Powers

[cthomer5000]

he's ahead of his time... - Austin Powers

[Tekneek]

So, this guy is going to get punished pretty harshly I bet because alcohol was involved. Nevermind the fact that the dude never gets his head severed if he is sitting properly in his seat. From the footage I saw of the truck, it's pretty clear the guy was leaning out of the truck when his head got knocked off. That puts him at fault for his own death to some degree.

While the driver was drunk, he is no less responsible for that death than Dany Heatley was for the death of Dan Snyder. At least Snyder was wearing his seat belt and properly seated when his idiot friend got him killed. If Snyder had been leaning out the window, I wouldn't want Heatley charged with his death either.

[sabotai]

It's a shame he wasn't more head strong

[Tekneek]

Originally Posted by 33sherman

head out the window = barfing

I've never experienced somebody putting his head out of the window of a moving vehicle to puke. Either they've puked in the car, or the car stopped for them to open the door and puke. The only people I've known to hang out of the window were drunk assholes who were never invited out with us ever again because they are too dangerous when drinking.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Tekneek

I've never experienced somebody putting his head out of the window of a moving vehicle to puke. Either they've puked in the car, or the car stopped for them to open the door and puke. The only people I've known to hang out of the window were drunk assholes who were never invited out with us ever again because they are too dangerous when drinking.

and we are talking about drunk assholes, so it's entirely possible.

I, BTW have had someone lean out the window and puke. He said he felt sick and about 5 seconds later was vomiting... completely out of nowhere.

[oliegirl]

That is ridiculous...when the driver got out of his car, he walked inside, and didn't notice his friend hanging out the truck window without a head! That goes beyond driving drunk...I don't know the legal terms or anything, but to me, there is drunk - and there is drunk. This guy was obviously way beyond drunk and was bordering on comatose if all this could happen and he never noticed.

To compare this to the Dany Heatley accident is wrong. That accident was caused by stupidity, he was driving almost 3 times the speed limit, but alcohol was not involved. Not only that, but they haven't released why the body was hanging out the window, it's possible he was thrown during the accident...I used to handle insurance claims and I have seen pictures of what that kind of force and trauma can do to a body.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Tekneek

I've never experienced somebody putting his head out of the window of a moving vehicle to puke.

you need to hang out with us more!

[Tekneek]

Originally Posted by oliegirl

Not only that, but they haven't released why the body was hanging out the window, it's possible he was thrown during the accident...I used to handle insurance claims and I have seen pictures of what that kind of force and trauma can do to a body.

The only damage to the vehicle was a missing mirror on the passenger side. How do you have an accident that knocks off the mirror (with no other damage) and decapitates the passenger without the passenger's head already being out the window?

[Vegas Vic]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Homicide... check. DUI...check. Don't forget "failure to maintain lanes" - he'll never see the light of day!

Life imprisonment + a $100 fine. He can get the $100 fine reduced to a parking ticket if he goes to traffic school.

[hoopsguy]

He'll never be the head of a major corporation.

He's lucky to have escaped the infamous "inattentive driving" charge as well ... that one is a favorite of the cops up north of here.

Pierce would not say how Hutcherson explained the headless body in his truck.

Also, I'm really curious what his original story was about the headless body riding shotgun before he 'fessed up.

[oliegirl]

The only damage to the vehicle was a missing mirror on the passenger side. How do you have an accident that knocks off the mirror (with no other damage) and decapitates the passenger without the passenger's head already being out the window?

If the car spun at all and the guy wasn't buckled in...I am not saying what he was doing or how he got to be hanging out of the truck, my point was that he didn't deserve to die b/c of either of those 2 facts.

[panerd]

Somehow the bar will end up in a lawsuit somewhere down the road. Maybe they will also sue the pick-up maker for not warning about putting your head out the window when your drunk asshole friend is swerving all over the road. This seems to be a open and shut case of homicide and hopefully the guy won't see the light of day for quite some time.


Unrelated rant: I am of course assuming he isn't a pro football player in which case he will be docked pay for killing somebody and then drive drunk again and continue to disgrace the city of the uniform he wears.

[albionmoonlight]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/South/09/....ap/index.html

Family of decapitated rider pleads for driver

Wednesday, September 1, 2004 Posted: 2:29 PM EDT (1829 GMT)





MARIETTA, Georgia (AP) -- The family of a man decapitated in a freak traffic accident is asking authorities to free the driver, who authorities say continued on home and left his close friend's headless body in the vehicle.

Francis "Frankie" Brohm, 23, was killed Saturday night on the way home from a bar with his high school friend, John Hutcherson.

Police say Brohm was drunk and hanging out the passenger side window when Hutcherson veered off the road. Brohm hit the guide wire running from a telephone pole, severing his head. Hutcherson, apparently unaware of what had happened, kept driving home and went to bed, leaving the body in the car.

The body was discovered the next day; Brohm's head was found on the side of the road.

Hutcherson was charged with vehicular homicide, driving under the influence and failing to stop at the scene of a fatal accident and was being held on $100,000 bond.

"They don't want to see him in jail," said Brohm family attorney David Lipscomb. "Their position is he needs to be out to receive whatever treatment is necessary, put his life back together."

The families of both men are very close, lawyers said.

"It's just a horrific accident, and we are all just in mourning right now," said Margaret Hutcherson, the driver's mother. She said the victim was "a part of our family, just like Johnny was a part of their family. I feel like I've lost a son."

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by oliegirl

If the car spun at all and the guy wasn't buckled in...I am not saying what he was doing or how he got to be hanging out of the truck

I think your visualization of the incident is very different than most everyone else's.

I think the conventional wisdom here is that the passenger was drunk, and was hanging his head out the window to throw up. It doesn't sound like there was any sort of real "collision" involved -- the car grazed alongside a support wire, and that caused the awful injury. But there was no "wreck" -- indeed, the driver supposedly managed to drive home without even noticing. That doesn't comport with a terrible accident with a passenger thrown from his seat through a window.

[Franklinnoble]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

The families of both men are very close, lawyers said.

"It's just a horrific accident, and we are all just in mourning right now," said Margaret Hutcherson, the driver's mother. She said the victim was "a part of our family, just like Johnny was a part of their family. I feel like I've lost a son."

Cue southern inbreeding joke in 3... 2.... 1....

[randal7]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Maybe it's me... but doesn't that third charge seem a little much?

Homicide... check. DUI...check. Don't forget "failure to maintain lanes" - he'll never see the light of day!

The minor charge is usually a predicate to the serious ones. Some judges/prosecutors will say you need a moving violation to demonstrate impaired driving or how the driver was at fault in the accident.

[Ben E Lou]

Cobb driver held in decapitation death released

A Cobb County man facing a vehicular homicide charge in an accident that decapitated his longtime friend was released from jail Tuesday.

John Kemper Hutcherson, 21, who police say was drunk at the time of the accident, thanked his dead friend's family for advocating his release.

LAURA NOEL/AJC (ENLARGE)
John Kemper Hutcherson and his mother, Peggy, leave the Cobb County Jail after he posted $50,000 bail Tuesday.
EMAIL THIS PRINT THIS MOST POPULAR

"I want to thank the Brohm family for supporting my release," Hutcherson said. His bail of $50,000 was half the original $100,000 bond set after the Aug. 29 death of Francis Daniel Brohm.

Cobb District Attorney Pat Head said the $50,000 bond is the same amount imposed in the past "four or five" Cobb vehicular homicide cases.

"The decision is based on our assessment of whether he is a flight risk, whether he might intimidate witnesses and other factors," Head said Tuesday.

The bond order prohibits Hutcherson from driving. He also is not allowed to drink alcohol and must submit to random alcohol and drug tests.

Brohm's family sent a letter to Head supporting Hutcherson's release on bond. The Brohm family's attorney, David S. Lipscomb, said they did not want his friend since high school to remain in jail. As she waited for her son outside the Cobb County Jail on Tuesday, Peggy Hutcherson said since Brohm's death she has lived "one day at a time."

"Some days it's been one hour at a time," she said, "and right now it's five minutes at a time."

Brohm died sometime after midnight Aug. 29 after he and Hutcherson had spent the night drinking with friends and at a Marietta bar, police said.

After leaving the bar, Hutcherson drove off Canton Road and hit a telephone pole support wire, police said. The wire decapitated Brohm, 23, who was leaning out of the window of Hutcherson's truck, police said.

Hutcherson continued to drive for 12 miles with the body of his decapitated friend in the passenger seat of his pickup truck, police said. After driving to his house, he went to sleep, leaving his pickup truck parked overnight in his driveway, police said.

A neighbor walking with his 1-year-old daughter saw Brohm's body about 8 a.m. and called police, who later found the severed head at the accident site.

Hutcherson's attorney, Ben Smith, said Tuesday his client would not talk about the specific charges he is facing or details of what happened on the night of the decapitation.

Hutcherson has four other traffic citations in Cobb since November 2000, two issued after separate accidents, records show.

Brohm was a passenger in Hutcherson's vehicle in March 2001 when Hutcherson was charged with a DUI, according to a Cobb police report. Hutcherson, then 17, was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge when the arresting officer didn't show up in court, said Cobb Solicitor Barry Morgan.

The day after Hutcherson's latest arrest, Cobb police spokesman Cpl. Brody Staud said Officer Michael Herring had been disciplined for missing court. But on Tuesday, Staud said Herring had not been disciplined in that case. He said he did not know why.

[SplitPersonality1]

Brohm's family sent a letter to Head supporting Hutcherson's release on bond.

I had to read this three times before I realized that Head was the name of the DA.