A North Carolina man has been found guilty of causing a golf cart crash that killed a father and his two children.
On Monday, an Iredell County jury found Austin Ray Harmon, 26, guilty of three counts each of felony death by vehicle and felony serious injury by vehicle. Jurors also found him guilty of driving while impaired.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the incident happened on June 13, 2022, after Harmon slammed into a family of five on a golf cart, at Fort Dobbs Road near Statesville.
Three victims passed away, identified as:
- Michael Shane Marlowe, 39
- Jada Marlowe, 13
- Bentley Marlowe, 5
Marlowe’s fiancé, Amy Mills, along with their 2-year-old child, Bailey, and a family friend, Teagan Murphy, 16, were severely injured in the crash.
“She was so little,” Mills testified about Bailey. “So, I just threw her. I just threw her and hoped for the best.”
Mills lost a part of her leg and spent a month in recovery, WSOC-TV 9 reports.
Police said Harmon had been driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.12 when the crash occurred, according to Iredell Free News.
The defense argued that the golf cart pulled in front of Harmon’s Honda Accord, and that Michael Marlowe had been drinking alcohol hours before the collision.
The prosecution said Harmon crossed a center line and hit the golf cart head-on, while driving under the influence of both drugs and alcohol.
“I seen a baby laying in the road,” Chief Todd Lendernan testified. “I seen one face down that was deceased. I seen another with people working on it, and I seen the mother and they’re yelling, ‘Please get me more tourniquets.’”
The deliberated for around six hours before returning a guilty verdict.
Harmon, who declined to speak during the trial, was reportedly “inconsolable” after the incident, his attorney said.
“He would do anything to go back and undo the events of that day,” attorney Kaleigh Darty said. “He understands the gravity of what was lost to the Marlowe family.”
A judge ordered Harmon to serve 30 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after 20 years.
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[Feature Photo: Bentley, Michael, and Jada; Nicholas Funeral Home/Legacy]