Stoddard County man to plead guilty to charges stemming from fatal crash

DEXTER, Mo. -- A Dexter man charged in connection with a fatal ATV crash last May is slated to plead guilty this month, the Daily Statesman newspaper reported.

According to Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Briney Welborn, Michael Norman appeared for a hearing last week and requested his upcoming trial be canceled and that he be allowed to plead guilty.

Judge Stephen Sharp granted his request and scheduled a hearing for June 21.

Norman was originally charged with the Class C felony of involuntary manslaughter in the first degree, the Class C felony of assault in the second degree, the Class C felony of endangering the welfare of a child and the Class D felony of driving while intoxicated, according to his arrest warrant.

According to the complaint formally filed through Welborn's office, Norman was found to be under the influence of alcohol while operating a motor vehicle (a three-wheel all-terrain vehicle) in a negligent manner, causing the death of Ronald P. Craver, 41, of Bernie. Norman's 7-year-old son was riding as a passenger on the Craver motorcycle at the time of the wreck.

Norman, according to the complaint, was operating the ATV in the wrong lane of travel along a stretch of Route Z, seven miles east of Bernie, and slowed to turn when Craver, driving the motorcycle, struck him from behind. Craver was pronounced dead at the scene and Norman's young son was injured and taken to a Cape hospital by ambulance.

The complaint further states that the ATV driven by Norman had no working rear lamps, no orange flag or orange triangle and that Norman "knowingly acted in a manner that created a substantial risk to the life, body and health" of the 7-year-old passsenger.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the investigating officer at the scene of the accident suspected that alcohol was involved on the part of Michael Norman. Following the administration of several field sobriety tests, with the results confirming intoxication, Norman was arrested. A subsequent blood test revealed his blood-alcohol content to be at .101 percent.

Norman remains in the Stoddard County Jail.