Springfield police no longer believe a juvenile was behind the wheel in a five-vehicle fatal accident July 22 at Sunshine Street and Kansas Expressway and, as a result, a petition filed in juvenile court has been dropped.
Police initially concluded the juvenile was driving a car southbound on the Kansas Expressway and entered the intersection at Sunshine Street, hitting a car driven by Jonathan Wright, 37, of Crane.
The Saturday morning collision caused the two vehicles to hit three other vehicles.
Wright was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said speed and alcohol were believed to be a factor in the crash.
On his way to second job at Casper's
Wright worked at Colton's Steakhouse & Grill and had just started a second job as a cook at Casper's. He was on his way to Casper's when he died.
Wright wrote a Facebook blog called the 417 Food Dude, where he visited Ozarks eateries and wrote about them: “Jon is my name and food is my game.”
Bill Prince is chief juvenile officer in Greene County. It is his office — not that of the Greene County Prosecuting Attorney — that filed the petition against the defendant in juvenile court.
The juvenile who had been suspected of driving the vehicle was 17. Juvenile Court handles cases of defendants under 18.
“Initial information was that this juvenile was responsible for driving the motor vehicle,” Prince said. “Subsequent investigation showed that he was likely not the individual who was driving the motor vehicle.”
The Hauxeda does not know the name of the juvenile because the names of juvenile defendants typically are not released to the public.
A petition in juvenile court is called an allegation of a “delinquent act.” It is an act that if committed by an adult would have be a crime. The comparable adult crime in this instance would have been felony DWI.
Police had asked for possible witnesses to come forward
On Aug. 10, Springfield police released photos of three men believed to have witnessed the accident. Police wanted to talk to them further but they had left before police obtained contact information.
Cris Swaters, police spokeswoman, was asked if any, or all, of the three men believed to be witnesses came forward.
She responded via email: “At this time it is still an active investigation that officers are currently working.”
News reports stated there was a passenger in the same car as the juvenile, who at the time was considered the driver. That passenger was transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
The Hauxeda asked Swaters if the passenger was being cooperative in the investigation. She did not provide an answer, mentioning the ongoing investigation.
It is unclear now if police still believe alcohol was involved since the person who police thought was driving apparently was not driving. It is also unclear if police believe the “passenger” was actually the “driver.”
‘He was a beloved and trusted friend'
Marilyn Bowling Wright, mother of Jonathan, said she believes the three witnesses that police hoped would come forward did come forward.
“That's all we know,” she said. “They still don't know what's going on.”
On Jonathan Wright's Facebook page, someone named Kathy Fisher posted the following a week after his death:
“He was Jon Boy, he was Little Jon, he was many things to many people. To those who lived and worked with him, he was a beloved and trusted friend. Both to those he knew and those he just happened to come in contact with, his primary purpose in life seemed to be helping anyone at any time in any way he could.
“Some of us were friends who didn't see him often, to whom he was always a pleasant young man, polite and cordial to old friends of his parents since way back when we ourselves were polite and friendly young people. Everyone in his wide circle of family and friends will agree that he was always looking for ways to lend a helping hand — that when help was needed he was always there.”
