POLICE: Driver Traveling 50-60 MPH When He Hit Casper Home
An affidavit of probable cause filed in Natrona County Circuit Court alleges that a Casper man was traveling between 50 and 60 mph when he struck a home on 13th and McKinley Streets last week.
Police further write in the affidavit that 25-year-old Donovan James claimed the brakes in his new F-150 failed before he struck the house at roughly 10 a.m Friday.
James is charged with driving under the influence.
According to the affidavit, police were called to the home and arrived to a grey 2014 Ford F-150 that had left the roadway, crossed a larger barrier of rocks, entered the west wall of the residence. Police say the truck drove completely through the first room of the home before entering a second room.
An officer found that the male driver, later identified as James, was still inside the vehicle. James reportedly told police that he was OK before attempting to get out of the vehicle. The affidavit states police instructed James not to exit the vehicle out of fear that a shift in debris could result in the home collapsing.
Fire and EMS personnel arrived shortly after and extricated James from the vehicle before taking him to Wyoming Medical Center.
According to the affidavit, a witness told investigators that they were traveling behind James on 13th Street and James was swerving within the lane. As James approached a red light, he reportedly began accelerating before running through the T intersection and hitting the house. The witness told police they estimated James to be traveling between 50 and 60 mph through the intersection.
Court documents state a second witness told police the F-150 was swerving in both lanes, forcing traffic off the roadway. The second witness was getting ready to call dispatchers to report James's erratic driving behavior, but James hit the home at roughly 60 mph before they got the chance.
Meanwhile, James, now at the hospital, told police that he was pulling up to the stoplight and his brakes didn't work. Court documents state he claimed to be traveling between 25 and 30 mph.
Police further allege that James gave short answers that "did not provide much information."
Court documents state police found a green package labeled "California Dreams" in James's vehicle which contained suspected spice. They also found a red metal pipe containing some sort of residue.
James agreed to undergo a blood draw after he was taken to the Natrona County Detention Center, court documents state.