At the beginning of my nightly Turner Report Newsletter, I write a column. Normally, it does not run on any of my blogs. Sometimes, the column is connected to something that is in the news, while other times I sound off on an issue, explain some of the decisions I make about what material I post, or reminisce about my times as a teacher, a newspaper reporter, a baseball umpire or one of the other hats I have worn.
The following column was written Thursday after the felony DWI arrest of a Neosho man for a crash in which his girlfriend was killed.
At this is written, online Newton County Circuit Court records do not show that any formal charges have been filed.
It's one of those messages you see every day on Facebook, a young man expressing how he feels about his girlfriend."I love this amazing woman so much!"
Normally, I don't spend much time looking at those messages, especially when I had never heard of the man or his girlfriend before this morning.
Only a few moments before, I wrote the Highway Patrol report on the accident that killed the girlfriend, a 20-year-old Joplin woman, Liberty Fowler.
Just a short while before I wrote the accident story, I posted the lists of Highway Patrol arrests. One was William Deckard, 21, Joplin, who was cited for felony driving while intoxicated, careless and imprudent driving and for not having insurance or valid plates and for not wearing a seat belt.
The accident report indicated he suffered from minor injuries. Liberty Fowler, the woman who had inspired his Facebook message, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Newton County Prosecuting Attorney's office has not filed formal charges at this point.
***
One of the first things I do after I come across a story about an alleged DWI that causes a death or serious injuries is to check online court records to see if the driver has any history of drunk driving.
I didn't find any DWIs, but William Deckard has been no stranger to being stopped by law enforcement for traffic violations.
On April 10 of this year, the Joplin Police Department stopped Deckard for going 64 in a 35 mile per hour zone and for careless and imprudent driving.
He was stopped for going 37 in a 25 mile per hour zone and for driving while suspended on September 14, 2022.
The Highway Patrol clocked him going 20 to 25 miles per hour over the speed limit March 17, 2022 in Ozark County, and online records show Deckard was involved in a crash at 32nd and Connecticut in Joplin October 14, 2021. He was cited for following too closely and for not having insurance.
All of this took place in a span of just over 20 months.
I will keep my eye on this case.
***
My column leads the Turner Report Newsletter every night (except there is no newsletter on Sunday), but you can also find the following items:
-Links to every post from the Turner Report, Inside Joplin, Inside Joplin Obituaries and Inside the Ozarks
-Links of interest- The links during Thursday's newsletter included Joplin Police Department incident and dispatch reports, McDonald County booking report, Associated Press' Today in History (an everyday feature), and stories from other sources on Missouri government and the Titanic sub
-Today's Videos- Videos from Joplin, Springfield, Kansas City and St. Louis television stations, area school districts and other sources
-Games, puzzles and comic strips- Each edition has links to some of your favorite comics, a crossword puzzle, word games and more.
The best part about the newsletter- It's free.
You can sign up by e-mailing me at rturner229@hotmail.com and I will send you the newsletters for Friday and Saturday or by messaging me on Facebook.
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