Suspect denies he was driver in fatal Lexington crash. Victim’s family raises money for burial
The man accused of killing a 27-year-old pedestrian in a hit and run claims he wasn’t driving the car when the crash occurred, but a Lexington police officer testified Friday the man was seen on cell phone footage driving the vehicle after the collision.
Marcus Marshall, 31, has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident/failure to render aid/assist with death or serious physical injury in a crash that left Joshua Johnson dead, according to court records. Marshall made an appearance in Fayette District Court Friday, where new details about the crash came out.
The crash happened on the inner loop of New Circle Road prior to Alumni Drive, police previously said. Johnson was declared dead at the scene from multiple blunt force injuries, according to the Fayette County Coroner’s Office.
Marshall was not present when officials arrived at the scene. He was arrested later that morning after police received a tip from the driver’s friend, according to court documents.
The friend was in the vehicle with Marshall when the collision occurred, according to testimony from Lexington police officer Nicholas Gray. The friend wanted to call police afterwards but Marshall told him no, Gray testified.
When detectives went to Marshall’s residence after receiving the tip, they found significant damage to his Audi A6, according to Gray. The front end and roof suffered damage and the windshield was caved in. There was also blood found on the car.
Marshall told detectives he had dinner with his friends and went home afterwards for the remainder of the evening, Gray said. It was later determined that Marshall picked his friend up downtown and the crash happened on their way home, according to Gray.
The friend has cell phone video showing Marshall driving the vehicle with the windshield caved in, according to Gray. But Marshall’s attorney argued that he wasn’t driving the car and instead it was the friend that was driving the vehicle.
Judge Melissa Murphy ultimately decided there was probable cause in the case, sending it forward to a grand jury, which will decided whether or not to indict Marshall. Marshall remained lodged at the Fayette County Detention Center on a $50,000 bond Wednesday, according to jail records.
Victim’s stepmom: His future was ‘stripped away’
A GoFundMe page has been created to raise money for Johnson’s burial expenses. The page’s creator, Tina Johnson, is the victim’s stepmother. She said Joshua Johnson was walking along New Circle Road when he was hit.
He was unmarried and didn’t have any children, Tina Johnson said.
“The chance for him to experience all of that was stripped away from him in an instant,” Tina Johnson wrote on the page. “He does have a little brother and a 7 year old little sister who absolutely thought the world of him.”
The crash was the second fatal pedestrian collision that evening. Earlier that night 52-year-old Ansean Jackson was hit near West Loudon Avenue and North Broadway and declared dead on scene. Christopher Parish, 40, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence - aggravated circumstance.
