James and Jamie Brumlow
The prosecution told a Criminal Court jury on Tuesday that former EMT and county reserve deputy Justin Whaley "killed James Brumlow," while the defense termed it "a tragic accident."
Whaley is standing trial in the courtroom of Judge Boyd Patterson on seven counts, including vehicular homicide by intoxication, in the July 3, 2018, fatal traffic crash.
Prosecutor Parker Garrett told the jury that Whaley had gone the previous night around 9 p.m. to the home of David Taylor on Bakewell Mountain for a bourbon testing. He said Mr. Taylor had been on a trip to Kentucky and bought the varieties of bourbon there.
He said the tasting lasted until 1 or 1:30 in the morning, and they had six glasses each. He said Whaley then slept for three and a half to four hours before driving off in his F150 truck.
The prosecutor said Whaley drove down the mountain to Highway 27 and went south. He said just after the intersection with Highway 111 that goes to Dunlap that Whaley did a u turn and wound up driving north on 111 in the southbound lane.
His truck then crashed head-on with the Brumlow SUV. He said the victim, a father of four, had to be extricated from his vehicle and was airlifted, but died from his injuries.
Prosecutor Garrett said there was a blood draw taken from Whaley four hours after the crash, and he tested .020. That is below the drunk level in Tennessee of .08. Both sides plan to call experts on what Whaley's blood alcohol level might have been at the time of the wreck.
Attorney Lee Davis told jurors that the incident was "100 percent" the fault of Whaley and said he takes full responsibility, but he said he was not intoxicated.
He said Whaley went to high school in Missouri, then was in the Marine Corps from 1999-2003, including duty in Iraq. He said he became friends with David Taylor, also a Marine Corps veteran and a pilot.
The attorney said Whaley was an EMT in California and in New York City before coming to Chattanooga. He said his wife is an emergency room physician.
He said Whaley was working on opening a shooting range in Van Buren County at the time.
The attorney said he had been friends with David Taylor for a couple of years, and they were sampling bourbon together that night before the wreck. He said the evening was "to socialize and not to get drunk." He said Whaley planned to spend the night at the Taylor house. He said Mrs. Taylor was not feeling well and stayed in a back room.
Attorney Davis said Whaley was able to safely negotiate the steep Taylor driveway and 12 turns down Bakewell Mountain as he headed for the shooting range that morning. He said at the time he got to Highway 27 south that it was still dark and the "confusing" intersection with Highway 111 was not lighted.
He said, in the dark, Whaley missed the turn off to the right to go up Highway 111 northbound. He said he then did a u turn thinking he was getting onto Highway 27 north prior to getting onto Highway 111 north. However, he actually was going north in the southbound lane of Highway 111.
After a short distance taking 39 seconds, he collided with the Brumlow vehicle in a grinding crash that spun around the truck and sent the Brumlow SUV on its side and sliding down into a shallow ravine. The victim had to be cut from the SUV by taking the roof off.
Attorney Davis said Whaley called 911 and "clearly" told what had happened and that emergency help was needed.
He said Soddy Daisy Police could have given a Breathalyzer test while he was at their police station, but he said a blood draw was finally taken after he was driven to the jail downtown.
The attorney said Whaley was initially allowed to go free.
He told the jury, "Alcohol had nothing to do with this accident."
Greg Green said he was driving south on Highway 27 around 5:35 a.m. to go to the gym for a workout when he saw a vehicle going the wrong way. He said he only saw the vehicle for a few seconds and did not have his phone in the front seat to call police.
Jerry Workman, who was in charge of the wreck for the Soddy Daisy Police, said he walked by Whaley at the wreck scene. He said Whaley said, "Jerry, how are you?" He said Whaley also told him, "I screwed up."
He said he knew Whaley due to him being an EMT and first thought he had stopped by to help at the wreck.
Investigator Workman then was told that Justin Whaley was the driver of the truck. He said a Soddy Daisy Police captain told him, "Did you know it was Whaley who was driving the truck? Did you know that he was drunk?"
He said he did not do field sobriety tests because Whaley had just been involved in a crash and might have a head injury that would cause the tests to be invalid.
He said the collision happen at the edge of the fast lane for the southbound traffic. He said both vehicles appeared to be traveling pretty fast at the 60 mph zone.
David Taylor said he and Whaley had six glasses each of bourbon of various varieties. He said the glasses were 1-2 ounces. He said neither he nor his visitor became intoxicated.
He said they chose that night because Whaley did not have to be at the shooting range at a certain time the next morning. He said Whaley was sleeping on his couch when he went to bed, but was not there when he got up at 7 the next morning.
The jury is sequestered in the case that is expected to last into Saturday. It is planned to take the jury on a field trip to the intersection where the wreck happened and to the Taylor home on Bakewell Mountain.
The Brumlows have started a Facebook page and have carried signs by the highway seeking "Justice for James Brumlow."
The case was initially assigned to Judge Barry Steelman, but he recused himself.
Justin Whaley