Published: June 12, 2008 11:54 am         

Jurors rule man’s death a accident

Better lighting needed on U.S. Route 150

DANVILLE — Witnesses spoke up where lab tests couldn’t confirm the situation leading up to the death of an Oakwood man earlier this year.

Twenty-four-year-old Jody Wood died when he was struck by a car just after 10 p.m. on March 14 along U.S. Route 150 close to the Halfway Inn, 1401 Warrington Ave. He was later pronounced dead at Provena United Samaritans Medical Center.

Vermilion County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Kirk Miller said bartenders described Wood as extremely intoxicated and told police they quit serving him two hours prior to the accident.

Two women standing outside the bar said Wood was agitated when he left the tavern. Wearing all dark clothing, he then walked into U.S. Route 150 and into the path of a westbound 1997 Chrysler driven by Kimberly Bidner.

“In one estimation, there was nothing the driver could have done,” Miller told the two-man, four-woman coroner’s inquest jury Wednesday morning.

Wood’s level of intoxication will remain a mystery, however, after blood samples taken for toxicology tests did not make it to the state crime labs.

Coroner Peggy Johnson said hairline cracks were discovered in the test tubes holding the blood upon their arrival to Springfield. The cracks eliminated the small amount of blood to begin with, leaving nothing to perform tests on.

The jury, after debating for several minutes, determined Wood’s death to be an accident.

Jurors added the assessment that better lighting should be installed along the roadway from Colonial Manor to Henning Road. Johnson said their suggestion would be passed on to the Illinois Department of Transportation and lawmakers.

Miller said no tickets were issued as a result of the accident and an inspection found all lights on the vehicle to be in working order. All information on the case has been turned over to the state’s attorney’s office for review.

Family members, including Wood’s mother and stepfather, Andy and Vicki Verhoeven, attended the inquest hearing.

Also at Wednesday’s inquests, a hearing was held regarding the shooting death of Kenneth Sims on March 22 in the 1900 block of Deerwood Drive last month.

Danville Police Detective Keith Garrett relayed much of the story already related in the case. An officer was flagged down along Fairchild Street by people in a white Buick who said they were taking a gunshot victim, Sims, to the hospital.

The shooting took place in front of 1901 Deerwood Drive, and five people already are in custody in connection with the incident.

Sims’ mother attended the hearing, asking Garrett how many times her son was shot. Garrett declined to comment, asking that the information be withheld for trial.

The jury debated before ruling the shooting a homicide.

Police still are searching for another suspect in the case.

The suspect has not been named, however, police testimony for preliminary hearings last week indicated an Antuan Lee was at the scene at the time of the shooting. Lee has not been arrested.