Woman Passenger Ejected in Fatal Accident Despite Driver's 5 Prior Charges for No Seat Belt

Van Buren Man Didn't Learn His Lesson and Lost a Friends Life

On October 22, Aspen Waste Driver Brandon Sanborn was headed North bound on I-55 near Richardson Road just outside of St Louis MO. What he saw was an extremely devastating and emotional site. He said, "Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a white S.U.V and a bunch of smoke or dust. It rolled over and skidded, crashing into the median." Then what he saw almost made him cry. "I saw the driver, a man, get out of the car and run around to the other side." He saw the man with clenched fists of rage throwing his arms up and down as if to pound the ground. Brandon said he could tell from the way his lips moved that the man was screaming "NO! NO! NO!" each time he threw his hands down.

According to Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report details, the driver of the S.U.V. was 22 year-old Justin P Woods of Van Buren, MO. He was also traveling with a passenger, 29 year-old, Jennifer D. Wolf of Piedmont, MO. The police report indicated that the vehicle, a 1994 Ford Explorer, "traveled off the right side of the roadway" and when the driver "overcorrected causing the vehicle to overturn" Jennifer was ejected from the vehicle and fatally wounded. Jefferson County Medical Examiner Investigator pronounced her dead at the scene at 7:55am. Neither of them were wearing their seatbelts at the time of accident.

Charges have not yet been brought against the driver, but it is very likely they will be based on his past criminal record. According to Missouri Case Net, Justin Woods of Van Buren, MO born in 1987, and 22 years of age has had a long history of misdemeanors charges. Aside from 2 speeding violations, he received fines for not using seat belts on 5 separate occasions. 2 fines were listed in conjunction with his speeding tickets in October 2006, just 11 days apart. In July of 2007 and then again in April and August of 2008 were the additional 3 charges. In August and April of 2008, charges for possession of marijuana and unlawful use of drug paraphernalia were also listed. The most recent chargers brought against Justin include a suspended and revoked drivers license for failure to appear in court on a previous charge. He was also driving without insurance.