Charges filed in crash that killed 2

A late-night summer crash that killed two passengers and injured another now has the driver facing criminal charges.

Scott L. Bragg, 32, of Patton, Mo., was charged Tuesday in Cape Girardeau County Associate Circuit Court with two counts of involuntary man-slaughter and one count of second-degree assault.

The fatal crash occurred shortly after midnight Aug. 13. Prosecutors say Bragg was driving a 1999 Pontiac Firebird at least 90 miles per hour on Big Bend Road. The car left the road, struck a culvert, went airborne and struck a tree.

Carl Scott Ford, 40, of Cape Girardeau, and Tracy Diane Ford, 28, of Olive Branch, Ill., were pronounced dead at the scene by county Coroner Mike Hurst.

Passenger Carla J. McNelly was pinned inside the back seat of the vehicle and had to be extricated by emergency responders. She was admitted to Southeast Missouri Hospital with a fractured left collarbone and fractured rib.

Bragg managed to climb out of the car before lying down on the ground, where he was found by a witness and Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper Jeremy Weadon. He was transported to Southeast Missouri Hospital with moderate but not life-threatening injuries.

Officers reported Bragg submitted to a breath test for alcohol and registered .097 percent. A sample of his blood was also drawn and placed into evidence.

Bond has been set at $12,500, but jail officials said Tuesday he had not been processed and believed he may still be recovering from injuries sustained in the crash.