Monday, September 25, 2017

Wrong-way driver indicted for manslaughter

A Madison County grand jury indicted Leronnie Michael in June for Culpable Negligence Manslaughter in the death of Jackson Busby.  Madison Police arrested Michael on December 22, 2016 after he allegedly drove the wrong way on I-55 N and struck another car in a head-on collision.  Madison Police stated in a press release at the time of the wreck:

 A 2013 Volkswagen Passat was observed by witnesses traveling southbound in the northbound lane of Interstate 55 just south of the Highway 463 exit (behind the Malco Theater).  Other vehicles proceeding northbound on the Interstate took evasive action to avoid the on-coming vehicle.  As the Volkswagen Passat proceeded against traffic and neared the south city limits it collided head-on with a 2016 Nissan Maxima which was proceeding northbound driven by Mr. Busby.  Two other vehicles received collateral damage as a result of the accident.  No drivers or passengers of those vehicles were injured.  There were no other persons in the two colliding vehicles other than the drivers.  The driver of the Volkswagen Passat was identified as Leronnie Joseph Michael, age 32, of Jackson, MS.  He is listed in critical condition at University Medical Center.  As is standard practice in fatality accident investigations, alcohol and drug testing of both drivers is pending.

(#2) The driver killed in the fatality accident Wednesday evening on Interstate 55 in Madison has been identified as Jason Bradley Busby, age 40, of Clinton, MS. The Madison Police Department sends its condolences to Mr. Busby’s family and friends.

 Bond was set at $1 million for Michael.  A settlement conference is scheduled for November 7.  The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Steve Ratcliffe.  Trial is scheduled to start on December 4, 2017. 



14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I realize that the Attorney's Entry of Appearance is dated June. I certainly hope that Mr. Reeves has now withdrawn from representation in order to cure the direct conflict created by his recent appointment as Madison City Prosecutor inasmuch as this is a Madison PD case.

Anonymous said...

Bond at a million dollars because he looks like such a risk for flight. Or because it makes the DA and judge look good to voters. Just what the system needs, another mouth to feed needlessly.

Justice done, God bless the victim's family, but woe to this messed up system.

Anonymous said...

Glad this thug is off the streets

Anonymous said...

to 5;41,,, sorry mr legal expert, reeves took the case after the fact. besides the madison city prosecutor and the madison municipal court have no jurisdiction at this point. the madison county district attorney tries the case . his name is michael guest. maybe you have heard of him . go home to your momma and quit trying to pretend you are an attorney.

Anonymous said...

to 7:41.. what a bunch of BS commentary. you would not know justice from juice, nor the united states constitution from a constellation.

Anonymous said...

So, was the guy drunk?

Anonymous said...

Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not one to defend the accused, but that particular bridge intersection of Highway 55 and 463 is, in my opinion, a bit out of the ordinary and for those that can't figure out how to navigate a traffic circle, it might be a challenge the first time through it, even more at night, even more than that at night and in the rain. IF dude was traveling west on 463 and stopped at the light, then turned an immediate left and went the wrong way down the ramp--under the influence or not---I can see that happen, and just this evening while looking at Google Earth, there is only one "WRONG WAY" sign on that ramp that is attached to the overhead sign truss. Again, I don't condone drinking and driving by any means and not trying to defend the accused, but IF I were the defense attorney I'd have to look HARD into those federal highway specs on signage.

Anonymous said...

Don't get me wrong, Mr. Traffic Engineer at 10:55, but nothing is said (above) about drinking and driving. But, anyway, it's good that you don't condone it. We needed to know that.

You also assumed the 'dude' had been traveling west on 463. Where did you get that?

You cannot reasonably deny that the offending driver was negligent and that his negligence led to and contributed to the death of another person....which is the definition of culpability.

Anonymous said...

He should have gotten the hint when all of the cars were driving in a different direction than he was.

Mr. Traffic Engineer in response to 5:42 a.m. said...

Perhaps you need a little history on the accused that apparently had a prior propensity to do foolish things.
http://kingfish1935.blogspot.com/2016/12/suspect-drives-wrong-way-on-i55-kills.html
Secondly, you might want to look into the definition of the word "IF" and how it is used in a sentence, such as "IF dude was..." and finally you are correct, I cannot reasonably deny the dude was being negligent. But IF, oops, there's that word and it's in all CAPS again, IF his defense could show that the signage was incorrect with regard to number of signs, size of signs, placement of signs, height of signs above ground level (How about that little "DO NOT ENTER" sign on the traffic signal pole surrounded by the flower bed--after all it IS Mayor Mary's bridge!)well then why wouldn't they look into such matters as a part of the accused defense? Go up the road to the intersection with Sowell Rd. and count the "WRONG WAY" signs on those exit ramps. How many do YOU find? Just what IS the "standard"? Bottom line, it's a tragedy. But before you exclaim "at this point what difference does it make?!" go and see if anyone else was "culpably negligent" prior to this incident. IF it is wrong, FIX it in hopes it wouldn't happen again.

Anonymous said...

Bond is justified in my opinion. Mr Michael was intoxicated when this fatal accident occurred. He had also been arrested in january of 2016 for ***gasp*** DUI.

High bonds are set to keep the defendant and the public safe. It is what it is. I, for one, am glad he is off the streets so he doesn't have the chance to cause another death.

Anonymous said...

Bet he was pissed at all of those other drivers going the wrong way.

Anonymous said...

So 2:16pm, how do you know that he was drinking on the night of this incident and how did you know about his DUI from January 2106 ?

Anonymous said...

Any update on this?



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