WAVE 3 - Louisville, KYSuspected drunk driver supposed to attend vigil hours after fatal crash

Suspected drunk driver supposed to attend vigil hours after fatal crash

By Janelle MacDonald - bio | email
Posted by Charles Gazaway - email

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - A South Louisville man is dead, the victim of a crash Monday morning. As is all too often the case, police say the other driver was drunk.

For 45-year-old John J. Brown, the suspected drunk driver, it not only was not his first DUI, he was actually supposed to attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving vigil Monday night as part of a DUI diversion program. The Jefferson County Attorney's Office said Brown was in the process of completing the program successfully until he killed 29-year-old Scott Smith.

For every car crash that claims a life, there is a family missing a member. Derek and Michael Smith never thought it would be theirs.

"You hear these stories all the time and you never think it could happen to you," said Derek, whose shy, quiet brother, Scott, died Monday when police say Brown drove drunk.

Police say Brown came careening down Manslick Road and hit Smith's car at the intersection at Hazelwood Avenue. About a mile before the fatal collision, they say Brown hit a postal truck, injuring that driver as well. To top it all off, that suspected drunken ride happened despite the fact that Brown was already in the DUI diversion program for a 2007 drunk driving arrest.

"Obviously, when a person has a problem, they try to seek help through counseling, that's always a good thing," said Dwight Mitchell, a LMPD spokesperson. "Now whether they adhere to the principles of the program, and actually do what they're taught to do is a whole other matter all together."

However, Derek and Michael Smith said one DUI should be enough.

"That should be it because if you don't kill somebody that time, you could kill somebody the next time," said Derek.

"You might get away with it one time, or two times or years, but that one time you kill somebody, it should never get that far," Michael said.

For the Smith family, Scott's death happened on a day they should have been celebrating. It was their mother's birthday. Now, December 7 is a day that now will never be the same again for the family left behind.

"It's a shame that a guy decided to drink a little bit and he lived," said Michael. "Now we're without a brother."

Brown has been charged with murder, DUI, wanton endangerment, criminal mischief and not having insurance. He is also considered a fugitive for not showing up for two additional traffic charges he got two months ago.

As of Tuesday night, he was still at University Hospital with serious injuries from the fatal crash.

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