A Whitley Circuit Court Jury is expected to decide later this week whether a Williamsburg man is guilty of causing the death of a juvenile during an alleged drunk driving incident nearly two years ago.
Jury selection started Tuesday in the trial of Matthew Paul Croley, 36, of Savoy Church Road, who is charged with murder, first-degree assault, driving a motor vehicle while license is revoked or suspended, and three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment in connection with the Jan. 31, 2024, incident.
His indictment alleged that he wantonly drove a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, at an excessive rate of speed, and with a DUI suspended license, which caused the death of a two-year-old.
On Friday, Circuit Judge Dan Ballou agreed to sever the trials of Croley and co-defendant Jayna Vorwerk, 24, of Arizona, who was charged with facilitation to commit murder, facilitation to first-degree assault, and three counts of facilitation to first-degree wanton endangerment
Commonwealth’s Attorney Ronnie Bowling noted in his motion to sever that he planned to call Vorwerk as a witness during Croley’s trial.
“Defendant Vorwerk’s defenses are antagonistic to Defendant Croley and all evidence implicating Vorwerk directly implicates Croley,” Bowling wrote in the motion.
The crash occurred just before midnight on Jan. 31, 2024, along the southbound lane of I-75 near the 17-mile marker. According to police, a 2017 Ford Edge, operated by Croley, struck a 1996 GEO Tracker in the rear while attempting to pass another vehicle.
The collision caused the Ford Edge to veer to the left, hit a cable barrier and come to rest straddling the barrier. According to testimony during the pair’s preliminary hearing in February 2024, preliminary investigations showed that the GEO Tracker veered to the right following the collision, turned sideways and rolled several times before coming to rest on its top on the other side of the guardrail.
The GEO Tracker sustained heavy damage during the crash, which required the driver, identified as Alexis Brianna Flores, 25, of Flat Lick, to be extricated from the vehicle. Flores and three juvenile passengers were injured during the crash, with Flores having to be airlifted to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. A fourth juvenile passenger was ejected from the vehicle during the crash and pronounced deceased at the scene.
Croley and Vorwerk were both allegedly under the influence at the time of the crash and each initially told police at different times that they were the one driving the vehicle when the crash occurred. After further investigation, officials determined that Croley had allegedly been the only one operating the vehicle.
At the time of the crash, Croley’s driver’s license was suspended with an interlock restriction, according to testimony, which is a device that is placed on a vehicle that requires a clean breath sample to be operated.
The vehicle Croley was driving when the crash occurred was registered to Vorwerk.
Vorwerk also initially faced charges of murder, first-degree assault, three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence. During a February 2024 preliminary hearing, prosecutors moved to dismiss the DUI charge and amend the other counts to facilitation.
Jury instructions submitted this month by Croley’s attorney, Jeremy Bryant, indicate that he may ask the jury to consider convicting his client on lesser charges.
His proposed jury instructions call for the jury to be able to consider convicting his client of second-degree manslaughter or reckless homicide rather than wanton murder.
Murder carries a possible sentence of 20 to 50 years or life in prison. The penalties for second-degree manslaughter range from five to 10 years in prison. The penalties for reckless homicide range from one to five years in prison.
The proposed jury instructions also call for jurors to be able to consider a charge of first-degree assault or second-degree assault.
First-degree assault carries a possible penalty ranging from 10 to 20 years in prison while second-degree assault carries a possible penalty ranging from five to 10 years in prison.
Court officials have allocated four days for Croley’s trial, but the trial could conclude in as little as three days.
Ballou has scheduled Vorwerk’s trial for Sept. 1.
Croley has been incarcerated in the Whitley County Detention Center since Feb. 1, 2024, according to the detention center’s website. His bond is set at $1 million cash.
