Preliminary hearing set in manslaughter case

A preliminary hearing is set for next month in the case against a Jackson man accused of causing an accident that killed a Glenallen, Mo., teenager.

Bobby Joe Abernathy, 34, faces charges of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and second-degree assault in connection with the April 5 crash that killed 17-year-old Amelia Fisher.

Judge Gary Kamp set the case for a preliminary hearing at 8 a.m. Oct. 11.

Abernathy was driving a Slumberland Furniture truck west on Highway 34 in Cape Girardeau County when the truck crossed the centerline and collided with an SUV driven by Erin Cordell of Marble Hill, Mo.

The crash killed Fisher and injured Abernathy, Cordell and Abernathy's passenger, Eric A. Smith of Cape Girardeau.

According to court documents, a blood sample collected from Abernathy after the crash tested positive for marijuana and methamphetamine.

Smith told police he had seen Abernathy smoking marijuana about 30 minutes before the accident, trooper Matt Keeney of the Missouri State Highway Patrol wrote in a probable-cause statement filed in the case.

In late April, Fisher's father, Christian Fisher, filed a wrongful-death suit against Abernathy; Slumberland Furniture; and Slumberland's parent company, Sleepy Hollow Furniture.

Online court records show Abernathy has a string of prior traffic-related violations, including driving while intoxicated in 2001; driving while suspended for points in 2003; and speeding in 1996, 2001, 2004, 2008 and 2012.

His most recent speeding conviction was Oct. 9, when he was fined $144.50 for driving 20 to 25 miles per hour above the speed limit in Gordonville.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Highway 34, Cape Girardeau County, Mo.