Driver in MLK Bridge double fatality charged with murder

Steve Cornelius, Commonwealth Journal, Somerset, Ky.
·1 min read

Mar. 10—After two men died as a result of a two-vehicle crash on the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge on Friday, Jan. 6, a Somerset man has been charged with murder.

Eric Humphrey, 37, was charged with two counts of murder, according to the indictment handed down by the Pulaski County Grand Jury on Wednesday.

After a head-on collision between a 2021 blue Chevrolet pickup truck — driven by Humphrey — and a 2012 gray Toyota van, two adult male occupants of the van were pronounced deceased on the scene and three others were flown out after being transported to Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital by Somerset Pulaski EMS, according to the Somerset Police Department.

The two who were pronounced deceased were the van's driver, Tianwen Guo, 38, of Somerset, and a passenger, Jose Amaya, 45, of Somerset. Injured parties in the van, all of whom were taken for medical treatment in some capacity, included Mariano Vasquez, 45; Rafael Vasquez, 16; Alberto Compost, 22; Agular Garcia, 19; and Jose Melphor, 36.

According to the indictment, Humphrey was charged with two counts of murder, four counts of first degree assault, and one count of second degree assault.

Humphrey was also charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, first offense, according to the indictment.

Humphrey is lodged in the Pulaski County Detention Center, and will appear in Pulaski County Circuit Court on Thursday, March 23.

Contact Steve Cornelius at scornelius@somerset-kentucky.com.