Joplin teen charged with 3 counts of negligent homicide

The Ottawa County, Oklahoma District Attorney's office has charged a 19-year-old Joplin man with three counts of negligent homicide in connection with an October 17, 2024 crash in which three passengers in the car he was allegedly driving were killed.

According to the probable cause affidavit, when the Oklahoma State Highway Patrol investigated the accident,, Jonathan S. Spencer told a trooper that the other survivor of the crash was the one who was driving.

Subsequent investigation, including a search of videos taken on the phone on one of the three deceased passengers indicated Spencer was the driver.

A bench warrant was issued for Spencer's arrest today.

(From the probable cause affidavit)

On the early morning of October 17, 2024, JONATHAN SPENCER was driving a blue in color 2010 Pontiac Vibe. In the car with SPENCER was front seat passenger KADEN HARRISON, and back seat passengers CHANCE MILTON, BRENT TAYLOR and ISAAC DUNN. SPENCER was driving eastbound on State Hwy 10 when the car left the road to the right for an unknown reason and then overcorrected and lost control and departed the road to the left and overturned multiple times before coming to rest on its top. 

During the collision all three backseat passengers were ejected from the vehicle.

Trooper WILL LANGELY was the first trooper to respond to the scene and was able to talk to SPENCER before he was taken to the hospital. SPENCER told LANGLEY that he was the front seat passenger and HARRISON had been driving the car. 

SPENCER stated that after the crash he noticed that the three backseat passengers had been ejected and he and HARRISON were the only occupants still in the car. SPENCER said he then got himself out of the car and then helped get HARRISON out of the car and that they both had been wearing seatbelts.

Trooper JOE GREEN was notified by NERCC about the collision and responded to the scene. Once on scene GREEN took photographs of the scene and the vehicle. GREEN then went to Mercy Hospital in Joplin to make contact with SPENCER, but he had already been treated and released. 

GREEN then went to Freeman Hospital in Joplin to make contact with HARRISON. HARRISON was incapacitated due to his injuries and unable to speak to GREEN. GREEN was able to speak to HARRISON'S mother and get information needed. 

HARRISON underwent multiple surgeries over the next several weeks and during that time his mother reached out to GREEN and told him that they had hired an attorney and would not be speaking with GREEN anymore. 

During that time GREEN was never able to interview HARRISON.

GREEN was given consent by the registered owner of the car to download the Airbag Control Module (ACM) to gather any precrash data that might be stored on it. GREEN harvested the module on October 17, 2024, and then on November 5, 2024, GREEN imaged the module at Troop B headquarters, and it showed that 5 seconds before the crash the car was traveling at 78 mph and 1 second before the crash it was traveling at 78 mph in a 55 mph zone.

Later in the investigation GREEN was given access to a cell phone that had belonged to back seat passenger, MILTON. On this phone there were several videos recorded the day of the crash, and they all show SPENCER driving and HARRISON in the passenger seat.

GREEN was eventually able to interview SPENCER and HARRISON. GREEN interviewed SPENCER at his father's residence in Joplin, MO and SPENCER did deny driving the car at all the night of the crash. 

When GREEN told SPENCER that he knew that he had lied to him, SPENCER'S father said the interview was over and told GREEN to get out of his house. 

GREEN interviewed HARRISON at Troop L headquarters in Vinita, OK with his parents there and his attorney. HARRISON cooperated and answered all questions.