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Changing lanes No charges in Thomas accident despite alleged speeding
Posted: Wednesday February 02, 2000 03:56 PM
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A police report indicating Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Derrick Thomas was speeding and weaving in traffic before a deadly accident has not persuaded a prosecutor to file charges. After viewing the Missouri State Highway Patrol report Tuesday, Clay County Prosecutor Don Norris said there was insufficient evidence to charge the nine-time Pro Bowler. Thomas was left paralyzed from the chest down from injuries he suffered when his Chevrolet Suburban slid off Interstate 435 and rolled at least three times in the median during a snowstorm the afternoon of Jan. 23. A passenger, Thomas's close friend Michael D. Tellis, was killed. Neither he nor Thomas was wearing a seat belt, and both were thrown from the vehicle. A second passenger was belted in and suffered minor injuries. Tellis's family has asked that Thomas not be charged. Although the Highway Patrol concluded Thomas was driving too fast for conditions, troopers who investigated the accident did not ticket him, which the prosecutor said was significant. "I view reports presented to me as to whether I should issue something more serious than the traffic summons the officer could write," Norris said. "That is something the officer has to decide, whether to issue a traffic summons." The Highway Patrol's report, issued Tuesday, quoted several witnesses to the accident, which occurred as Thomas was driving in an icy snowstorm toward Kansas City International Airport to catch a flight for a St. Louis Rams playoff game. Shawn J. Farrell of Maryville told investigators he was driving at the 70 mph speed limit when he was passed by Thomas' sport utility vehicle, according to the report. Vicky Wantland of Kansas City said she was driving about 50 mph in the right lane, about seven car lengths behind a tractor-trailer. Judy Jenkins of Warrensburg said she was in the left lane about two or three car lengths behind the truck. Thomas came up behind Jenkins' car, cut back into the right lane and then cut back between Jenkins' car and the truck, the report said. Thomas' car went sideways, hit the median and began rolling. Thomas and Tellis were thrown out of side windows. Last week, Patrol Trooper Scott Meyer said there was no evidence of drugs or alcohol being involved. Toxicology reports were incomplete. Thomas, 33, is hospitalized in his hometown of Miami.
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