Man sentenced in fatal 2020 traffic accident
Oct. 13—WARRENTON — A man will serve at least five years in prison after pleading guilty to felony death by vehicle in connection with a March 2020 traffic accident.
Caleb Tye Killian also pleaded guilty to a felony charge of fleeing the scene of an accident. Presiding Judge Henry Hight sentenced him to serve 64 to 89 months on the death-by-vehicle charge and six to 17 months on the fleeing-the-scene charge.
The sentences will run consecutively, District Attorney Mike Waters said.
The charges stem from a single-car accident on March 17, 2020, that claimed the life of Harley LeAnn King, 19, who was from Ebony, Virginia.
Assistant District Attorney Stormy Ellis said the accident happened along Pearl Harbor Road, near Littleton, in the early morning hours, and that King had no pulse when rescuers found her in the back seat of the vehicle.
Emergency responders noted that there were "many beer cans in the car" along with the smell of alcohol, Ellis said, adding that Warren County Sheriff's Office found a bruised Killian nearby.
Witnesses had reported that a shirtless man got out of the car after the accident, yelling for help, and had run away.
After authorities took him into custody, Killian registered 0.09 on a blood-alcohol test. A blood test was positive for post-consumption byproducts of cocaine and alcohol, Ellis said.
She added that Killian and King had "a tumultuous relationship" that spawned an assault-on-a-female charge against Killian that prosecutors dismissed as part of their plea agreement with him.
Mitch Styers, Killian's lawyer, said the two had "lived together for a short period of time" and that a medical examiner's report showed that King was also impaired that night.
"Both did things harmful to themselves, both were impaired that night, both should not have been behind the wheel," Styers said.
Styers added that Killian was "calling for help" by going to nearby houses and did not run from deputies when they arrived. "He admits he was driving and had consumed a sufficient quantity of an impairing substance," the lawyer said.
Ellis said prosecutors wanted an active prison sentence. Styers sought a suspended sentence, with any conditions Hight might've seen fit to impose. He cited as one reason form that request the fact that Killian is now a father, to a child whose mother is still recovering from complications triggered by the birth.
King's sister told Judge Hight the victim's family believed that Killian had not been held accountable for his actions.
Killian apologized to the family.
Hight called the case "a tragedy for everyone involved."
Contact Ray Gronberg at rgronberg@hendersondispatch.com or by phone at 252-436-2850.
