Prosecutors wrap case in Wilcox trial

October 31, 2024 4

Delaware prosecutors rested their case against a Millsboro man facing assault and manslaughter charges for his role in a Christmas Eve 2022 crash that killed three people at the intersection of Route 9 and Minos Conaway Road. The case is set to head to a jury Friday, Nov. 1.

Jason Wilcox, 48, faces three counts of manslaughter, four counts of first-degree assault, one count of speeding, one count of leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death and one count of failure to report a collision resulting in injury or death. Wilcox has pleaded not guilty to the charges, rejecting the state’s final plea offer and electing to go to trial. After the prosecution rested Oct. 31, the defense also rested. Wilcox declined to testify, but the jury will be instructed that Wilcox declining to testify is his right and not evidence of guilt. Wilcox’s defense is that the accident was caused when the driver of the Odyssey, Jason Wright, pulled out too far onto Route 9. Wilcox’s attorney, Michael Abram, said while the crash was an absolutely horrific occurrence, his client was not at fault.

The final two days of the prosecution’s case, Oct. 30-31, were devoted to the testimony of the investigating officer, Cpl. Kenneth Argo of the Delaware State Police Crash Reconstruction Unit. Argo testified that when he arrived at the scene, he saw a 2008 Honda Odyssey minivan that had been almost completely severed at a point just behind the driver-side door. He said the rear portion of the car had also been severely damaged.

Argo said a 2016 Range Rover was found about 200 feet from the Odyssey with major damage to the front driver’s side of the car. The airbag had been deployed on the driver’s side and the driver was not at the scene. Upon running the Range Rover’s license plate, police traced the vehicle to a Lewes address.

Wilcox previously pleaded guilty in October 2023 to two counts of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and drug possession charges, for which he was sentenced to 12 months’ probation. The jury in the manslaughter case will not hear evidence on when or how Wilcox ended up behind the wheel the Range Rover, as the evidence was determined to be prejudicial.

Argo said DNA testing of the car’s airbag and a gray knit cap found in the car were traced back to Wilcox. Prosecutors also played a surveillance video from Striper Bites restaurant in Lewes, showing Wilcox walking in and out of the restaurant wearing the knit cap recovered from the Range Rover.

One of the first Delaware State Police officers on the scene was Cpl. Kathleen Koff, who serves as a patrol officer and K-9 handler. Koff testified that when she arrived, she saw debris and two bodies in the roadway. She said it was one of the worst collisions she had ever responded to. The next day, Christmas Day, Koff said, she was called out to a Millsboro address belonging to Wilcox. Koff had brought her K-9, and after several warnings, she released the dog into the house. The dog found no one inside, but police were soon made aware that Wilcox had allegedly fled out the back door, Koff said. Wilcox was soon arrested, and Koff said police found the key to the Range Rover at his residence.

Besides evidence left at the scene, Argo testified that he was able to get access to surveillance video from outside the clubhouse of the Reserves at Lewes Landing development, which is located near the intersection of Minos Conaway Road and Route 9. Argo said that while the crash itself could not be seen in the video, the video did show Wilcox driving just before the crash and later shows Wilcox walking around the development after the crash.

On his second day of testimony, Argo testified that during his investigation, he found no evidence of mechanical failure in either vehicle, no evidence of fatigue or alcohol impairment of either driver and no evidence that either driver was on their cellphone. Argo said the primary cause of the accident was speed. He testified that there were no brake marks around the scene of the accident.

As part of his investigation, Argo tested the restraint control module for the Range Rover. This module helps control the airbag and other safety restraint mechanisms in the car. Argo said he had the module tested by its manufacturer in France and was able to determine the speed of the Range Rover from five seconds to the moment of impact. Argo testified that the module showed the car accelerating from 73 mph to 81 mph at the moment of impact. As part of his investigation, Argo also created a time-to-distance chart, to show the difference between what the time and distance to impact would have been if Wilcox had been traveling the speed limit – 50 mph – versus what he was actually driving. Argo testified that if Wilcox had been driving the speed limit, the crash would have been avoided.

Abram objected to the prosecution introducing this evidence, and sought to have it struck down on the basis that it is irrelevant and would only serve to confuse the jury. Judge Mark Conner disagreed and allowed the prosecution to introduce the chart.

On cross-examination, Abram attacked the chart as being mere speculation and questioned Argo about Wilcox’s lack of reaction time to Wright pulling out in front of him. Argo said that Wilcox did attempt to veer to his left in an attempt to avoid the crash. However, Argo said on redirect examination that if Wilcox had slowed down, the accident could have been avoided. Argo agreed with Abram that there was nothing to indicate that Wilcox intentionally caused the crash.

There were no third-party eyewitnesses to the crash, so much of the prosecution’s case was based around the testimony of two of the four survivors of the crash, Debra Huss and Jason Wright, who testified Oct. 29.

Huss said the night of the crash, she and her family were out looking at Christmas lights around Lewes. Wright was behind the wheel, while she was in the passenger’s seat serving as navigator. Her husband, Gerald, and her daughter’s child from her previous marriage, Christian Guida, were in the middle seats. In the back seat were Huss’s grandson, Cole Wright; Huss’s daughter, Jessica Guida and granddaughter, Jovie Wright.

Huss said Wright stopped the car at the intersection of Route 9 and Minos Conaway Road and she advised Wright to take a left as he waited for traffic to clear. She said her husband asked her about turning left before Wright made the turn.

As the traffic cleared, Huss said she looked down at her phone and then looked up when she heard Jessica scream from the back seat as a pair of headlights came barreling toward them.

Gerald Huss, 74, and Jovie Wright, 9, were both ejected from the car and died. Jessica Guida, 35, died as a result of her injuries.

Wright testified that when he looked both ways at the intersection, he did not see any cars coming toward him. In only a few seconds after pulling into the roadway, Wright said, the Range Rover crashed into them.

“I would have yielded if I had seen another car,” he said.

With evidence now wrapped up, the jury will hear closing arguments and Conner’s jury instructions Friday, Nov. 1, before they begin deliberations.