HUNTINGTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – An off-duty Cabell County Deputy that struck and killed a 13-year-old girl with his police cruiser will not face any charges, according to prosecutors.
West Virginia State Police and the Huntington Police Department have concluded their investigation into the death of Jacqueline Hudson, a 13-year-old who was fatally struck by an off-duty Cabell County deputy sheriff’s patrol car at the intersection of 31st Street and 5th Avenue in Huntington, West Virginia on December 30, 2022.
Prosecutors have decided not to charge former Cabell County Deputy Jeffrey Racer with a crime in this incident.
The Cabell County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has also appointed a special prosecutor to investigate and potentially prosecute crimes relating to the matter. According to the prosecutor’s report, Jacqueline Hudson, along with other juveniles, drank alcoholic beverages and smoked marijuana laced with a substance known as K2 just prior to the accident causing her to become significantly impaired.
The investigation included two sobriety tests conducted on Deputy Racer, with no signs of impairment. The West Virginia State Police called for the assistance of Sergeant R.A. Marsh of the West Virginia State Police, Troop 6, Welch Detachment Crash Reconstruction Unit, who attempted to download the “black box” data, but it did not provide any useful information.
Being an older model vehicle, the black box did not activate to give precise information regarding the speed of the vehicle and other relevant factors.
West Virginia State Police on February 1, 2023, at approximately the same time the accident occurred, conducted a speed survey at the intersection of 31st Street and 5th Avenue, by using radar gun technology, to determine in a one-hour period what the average speed of travel individuals engage in going through said intersection.
His analysis concluded that it could be an estimated speed between 47 and 55 miles per hour, within an average of 47.9 miles per hour, using the energy lost formulas skid to stop, with a range of adjusted drive factors to include 75% per 100% braking speed.
The report stated that this information is an estimate based on scientifically accepted formulas of relevant factors and does not provide an established factual number, but a range of possibilities. West Virginia State Police conducted a speed survey at the intersection of 31st Street and 5th Avenue using radar gun technology to determine the average speed of travel individuals engage in going through said intersection.
During an approximate one-hour period, Corporal Swope recorded sixty-three speed samples from vehicles via lidar (speed radar), and the lowest and highest values was dropped from the survey to include 37 MPH and 75 MPH.
Racer resigned from the Cabell County Sheriff’s Office on April 14, 2023.