A North Liberty teen cited for failing to yield to a jogger, who he struck May 22 with his sport utility vehicle and who later died, will waive sentencing and pay the maximum fine and have his driver’s license suspended.
Jonathan J.F. McCaffery, 17, was convicted last month of failure to yield to a pedestrian in the right of way, a simple misdemeanor, following a non-jury trial in August. He filed a waiver of sentencing Monday, which wasn’t available to the public online until Wednesday, stating he accepted the prosecution’s sentencing recommendation.
Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann Smith recommended McCaffery, who goes by Jack and is the son of the University of Iowa men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery, pay the maximum fine of $1,000 and have his driver’s license suspended for 180 days, which is an enhancement of the misdemeanor because it resulted in a death.
Joseph Moreland, McCaffery’s lawyer, and Zimmermann Smith, in the sentencing agreement, asked the court to enter the sentencing and cancel up an upcoming hearing.
Sixth Judicial District Magistrate Mark Neary ruled last month that McCaffery, 16 at the time, “did not comply with the common law requirements under the circumstances.” McCaffery approached the jogger, Corey Hite, 45, of Cedar Rapids, in the crosswalk on Melrose Avenue and Kennedy Parkway in Iowa City at a little over the speed limit, according to what McCaffery told a police officer.
At the scene, McCaffery said he was driving at “full speed,” the judge noted in his ruling.
Neary also said there was no evidence, according to police, that the teen was speeding, driving in a reckless manner, was distracted while driving or using his cellphone, or that he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
However, there were two warning signs advising drivers of the pedestrian crosswalk at that intersection, as Kent Rolston, transportation planner for Iowa City, testified at trial. McCaffery also said he was familiar with the intersection because he had driven it in that area several times.
During last month’s trial, witnesses testified they saw McCaffery’s 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe hit a jogger — “flipping him up in the air,” one said — as the jogger ran across the marked crosswalk. Three witnesses said McCaffery didn’t slow down until the vehicle hit Hite, an Iowa National Guard soldier, who later died from his injuries.
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Neary, in the ruling, noted there were vehicles stopped in the right lane while approaching the crosswalk, which McCaffery thought were turning right. He recalled seeing a mail truck with one vehicle in front of it and one behind it. Neary said McCaffery’s view in front of the stopped vehicles was blocked, and Hite wasn’t visible to McCaffery until Hite “appeared in front of the line of stopped vehicles.”
“The court finds that Mr. McCaffery could not stop or avoid striking Mr. Hite once he appeared in Mr. McCaffery’s lane of the roadway,” Neary said. “However, the court does not find any evidence that Mr. Hite engaged in any affirmative act to relinquish his right of way within the crosswalk.”
Neary ruled that a reasonable person approaching a marked pedestrian crosswalk with an obstructed view of part of the crosswalk should have slowed down or stopped to make sure there were no pedestrians in the traffic lane.
While it was reasonable for McCaffery to assume the vehicles were stopped to make a right-hand turn, that wasn’t the only possible reason why vehicles were stopped at a crosswalk, Neary said in the ruling.
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Jonathan J.F. McCaffery, 17, was convicted last month of failure to yield to a pedestrian in the right of way, a simple misdemeanor, following a non-jury trial in August. He filed a waiver of sentencing Monday, which wasn’t available to the public online until Wednesday, stating he accepted the prosecution’s sentencing recommendation.
Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann Smith recommended McCaffery, who goes by Jack and is the son of the University of Iowa men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery, pay the maximum fine of $1,000 and have his driver’s license suspended for 180 days, which is an enhancement of the misdemeanor because it resulted in a death.
Joseph Moreland, McCaffery’s lawyer, and Zimmermann Smith, in the sentencing agreement, asked the court to enter the sentencing and cancel up an upcoming hearing.
Sixth Judicial District Magistrate Mark Neary ruled last month that McCaffery, 16 at the time, “did not comply with the common law requirements under the circumstances.” McCaffery approached the jogger, Corey Hite, 45, of Cedar Rapids, in the crosswalk on Melrose Avenue and Kennedy Parkway in Iowa City at a little over the speed limit, according to what McCaffery told a police officer.
At the scene, McCaffery said he was driving at “full speed,” the judge noted in his ruling.
Neary also said there was no evidence, according to police, that the teen was speeding, driving in a reckless manner, was distracted while driving or using his cellphone, or that he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
However, there were two warning signs advising drivers of the pedestrian crosswalk at that intersection, as Kent Rolston, transportation planner for Iowa City, testified at trial. McCaffery also said he was familiar with the intersection because he had driven it in that area several times.
During last month’s trial, witnesses testified they saw McCaffery’s 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe hit a jogger — “flipping him up in the air,” one said — as the jogger ran across the marked crosswalk. Three witnesses said McCaffery didn’t slow down until the vehicle hit Hite, an Iowa National Guard soldier, who later died from his injuries.
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Neary, in the ruling, noted there were vehicles stopped in the right lane while approaching the crosswalk, which McCaffery thought were turning right. He recalled seeing a mail truck with one vehicle in front of it and one behind it. Neary said McCaffery’s view in front of the stopped vehicles was blocked, and Hite wasn’t visible to McCaffery until Hite “appeared in front of the line of stopped vehicles.”
“The court finds that Mr. McCaffery could not stop or avoid striking Mr. Hite once he appeared in Mr. McCaffery’s lane of the roadway,” Neary said. “However, the court does not find any evidence that Mr. Hite engaged in any affirmative act to relinquish his right of way within the crosswalk.”
Neary ruled that a reasonable person approaching a marked pedestrian crosswalk with an obstructed view of part of the crosswalk should have slowed down or stopped to make sure there were no pedestrians in the traffic lane.
While it was reasonable for McCaffery to assume the vehicles were stopped to make a right-hand turn, that wasn’t the only possible reason why vehicles were stopped at a crosswalk, Neary said in the ruling.
North Liberty teen will pay fine, lose driver’s license 180 days for fatal crash
Jack McCaffery, 17, of North Liberty, will pay $1,000 fine and his driver’s license will be suspended for 180 days as a result of fatal crash in May. He was cited for failing to yield to a jogger in a marked crosswalk in Iowa City. The jogger, Corey Hite, 45, an Iowa National Guard soldier, died...
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