KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — After less than an hour of deliberations, a Kaufman County jury on Friday afternoon found John Allen English guilty of manslaughter with a deadly weapon and two counts of aggravated assault for a December 9, 2012, vehicle accident that killed one and seriously injured two others.
KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — After less than an hour of deliberations, a Kaufman County jury on Friday afternoon found John Allen English guilty of manslaughter with a deadly weapon and two counts of aggravated assault for a December 9, 2012, vehicle accident that killed one and seriously injured two others.
31-year-old English was originally indicted for one count of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle, a second-degree felony; two counts of intoxication assault, third-degree felonies; manslaughter, a second-degree felony; and four counts of aggravated assault, second-degree felonies.
The indictments stem from the 2012 accident in which English’s girlfriend, 21-year-old Whittney Crawford, was killed while riding passenger in a vehicle English was allegedly driving. There were also several serious injuries to two other individuals in a vehicle English struck head-on on Farm-to-Market (FM) 987 north of Kaufman, Texas.
After the state and defense rested their cases Friday, Kaufman County Court at Law Judge Dennis Patman Jones, who is presiding over the trial, compelled the state to choose one charge per offense per person after a motion from defense attorney Taryn Davis and case law stating only one charge should be presented to the jury for their deliberations.
The state chose to present the manslaughter charge with a special provision it was committed with the use of a deadly weapon, to wit, a vehicle and the two aggravated assault charges to the jury for deliberations. Just after 4:30 p.m., the jury returned with a guilty verdict for each charge.
Sentencing for English will begin on Monday morning, October 6, 2014.
English was allegedly driving a green Toyota 4Runner southbound on Farm-to-Market (FM) 987 north of Kaufman, Texas, with Crawford when investigators say he crossed the center line of the road and struck a Honda Pilot SUV carrying Tyler Wiggins, Michelle Cheney, and Megan Cheney. Crawford, raised in Kaufman, Texas, was pronounced dead at the scene and the others were transported to Dallas area hospitals.
Urine tests conducted during English’s treatment at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas, and later confirmed at a secondary testing facility indicated a positive presence of cannabinoids and a high level of amphetamines in English’s system. Judge Jones allowed the admission of the test results on Tuesday morning following a Daubert hearing to suppress the results from defense attorney Taryn Davis.
Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Justin Schuman, who conducted the accident investigation, testified Wednesday and stated English and Crawford were engaged in some sort of sexual act prior to the accident because both individuals were found with their pants down and genitals exposed.
English, who was ejected from the vehicle during the accident, was observed face-down in a driveway with his pants down, exposing his buttocks. Crawford remained in the car where she was pronounced deceased. The bottom of her pants were crushed in between the floorboard and the dash and her feet were in the waistband of the pants — indicating they were also pulled down and placed her in the passenger seat of the vehicle at the time of the accident, according to Schuman.
Wiggins, the driver of the Honda Pilot, testified the 4Runner made an almost deliberate turn right in front of his vehicle. Wiggins was a deputy at the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office at the time of the accident and has since left law enforcement due to an injury sustained to his leg during the accident.
His wife, Michelle Cheney, sustained injuries to her hip, feet, hands, and a fractured leg and arm. Their daughter sustained a hip injury and lacerations.
Each charge was enhanced due to a felony offense conviction for possession of a controlled substance in penalty group one, one gram or more but less than four grams, in Kaufman County prior to the date of the accident.
