Sheriff’s office continues to investigate 6-year cold case

February 23, 2019 | 3:00 am

Updated February 22, 2019 | 9:14 pm

Daviess County resident Dr. Lacy Brinton was killed in a car accident on the William H. Natcher Parkway on Feb. 21, 2013. | Photo courtesy of the Daviess County Sheriff's Office

On Feb. 21, 2013, Daviess County resident Dr. Lacy Brinton was killed in a car accident on the William H. Natcher Parkway around 5:48 p.m. Investigators with the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office are still working to solve this case in which a soybean spill caused Brinton’s fatal single-vehicle car accident six years ago.

According to DCSO, Brinton was traveling southbound toward Bowling Green on the Natcher Parkway when she lost control of her vehicle near the 65 mile-marker, less than 10 miles from the Owensboro exit ramp. DCSO investigated the scene of the accident and discovered soybean meal had been spilled on the roadway, causing Brinton to lose control of the vehicle.

Corporal Tyler Free, the accident reconstruction investigator leading the case, said it was a large amount of soybean meal that had spilled onto the Natcher.

“They may not have noticed the spill at the time of the incident but, based on how much was lost, they would have definitely noticed it after they reached their destination,” Free said. “I believe either the driver or the company knows something.”

It’s unclear exactly where the driver was headed, or which company he or she was driving for. Free said DCSO checked 23 trucks that day in February, all from local grain companies in town.

“We were able to clear all but five by the ending weight of those trucks,” Free said. “We checked the private farms in the area too, but none of those trucks would have been traveling on the Natcher.”

Free said one additional company was checked out as well, but it was determined they hadn’t been delivering soybeans on the day the accident occurred.

Free said Brinton’s family hired a private investigator who questioned those from several locations outside of Daviess County. However, the private investigator hasn’t been unable to find any leads.

While several on the Natcher witnessed the one-vehicle accident, Free said no one DCSO spoke to had seen the truck carrying the soybean meal.

The case remains open, and Free said DCSO has no intention of closing it until they’ve gathered more information.

“Every so often, we’ll email back and forth [with the family]. We want to provide closure for them,” Free said. “This is never going to be considered a closed case. We’re still out there hoping to find leads. Hopefully someone remembers something or comes forward with information.”

As for charges that could ensue as a result of the fatality, Free said a murder charge isn’t necessarily the route that would be taken.

“We’d have to discuss that with the Commonwealth’s attorney’s office as far as criminal charges,” Free said. “But there’d be a chance of a civil case.”

Free hopes that, if the driver of that truck is aware of what happened, he or she will come forward so that Brinton’s family can finally get some answers after six years of searching.

“I’m hoping that as we keep this case alive and continue to get the word out, someone’s conscious will drive them to speak about it,” Free said.

February 23, 2019 | 3:00 am

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