CLAY COUNTY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A Clay County father is facing multiple felony charges after authorities say he was under the influence of methamphetamine and marijuana when he crashed into a stationary piece of heavy equipment, killing two of his children and seriously injuring another.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Clay County Magistrate Court, James Edward Neal was charged with two counts of DUI causing death, DUI causing serious bodily injury and two counts of child neglect creating risk of serious bodily injury or death.
The charges stem from a single-vehicle crash that occurred at approximately 2:15 p.m. on Aug. 22 along W.Va. Route 16 near Indore.
West Virginia State Police said Neal was driving a 2008 GMC Acadia northbound when the vehicle struck a stationary Department of Highways front loader parked along the right side of the roadway.
Neal was traveling with three juvenile passengers at the time of the crash. Two of his children, ages 7 and 13, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the complaint. A 14-year-old passenger suffered serious injuries.
Police said Neal also suffered several injuries but initially declined medical treatment.
According to the complaint, Neal told investigators he had taken the children to a football scrimmage in Richwood earlier that morning. He allegedly told police he stopped at a GoMart for snacks while returning home and said he believed he fell asleep immediately before the crash.
The investigating trooper reported observing signs of possible impairment while speaking with Neal, including disoriented behavior, heavy perspiration, a blank stare, flushed face, body tremors and changes in his speech.
Neal was later transported to Summersville Regional Medical Center, where he agreed to a blood draw.
According to the complaint, Neal told investigators he had previously been clean from methamphetamine for nearly five years but had relapsed within the previous two weeks. He allegedly admitted using methamphetamine every two or three days and said he had last used approximately half a gram on Aug. 20, about 39 hours before the crash.
Neal also allegedly admitted smoking approximately half a gram of marijuana around 10 p.m. the night before the crash.
Investigators later obtained a search warrant for Neal’s vehicle. Police said a search uncovered a folded piece of paper containing approximately two grams of a partially burned leafy substance believed to be marijuana.
Police also photographed the vehicle’s speedometer, which investigators said appeared to have become non-operational following the crash but was still displaying approximately 72 mph. Attempts to recover crash data from the vehicle’s airbag control module were unsuccessful because investigators determined the vehicle apparently lost power too abruptly for the data to be stored.
On Sept. 8, investigators received a toxicology report from the West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory. According to the complaint, Neal’s blood tested positive for amphetamine, methamphetamine and THC compounds.
The complaint states Neal’s blood contained methamphetamine at approximately three times the amount investigators described as a medically appropriate therapeutic range.
Police allege Neal knowingly operated the vehicle with three juveniles inside after using intoxicating substances and that his actions resulted in the deaths of two children and serious injury to another.
A warrant was issued for Neal’s arrest on Sept. 9.
The charges against Neal are allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
