Two suspects appear in court for fatal I-55 accident

Witnesses said the Cape Girardeau man was swerving into the other lane, changing speeds drastically before a car collision that killed Carl Wayne Black, 59, of Altenburg, Missouri, early Sept. 12 on southbound Interstate 55.

The man said he fell asleep at the wheel, and that’s why he could not remember the crash, according to Cape Girardeau police officer Ryan Droege.

Judge Gary Kamp found there was sufficient probable cause to bound over Marcelino Larmona-Cruz, 24, on charges of involuntary manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident and tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution.

Samuel C. Salinas, 17, of Cape Girardeau, also was charged in the case with tampering with evidence in a felony prosecution.

When they originally were charged, Cape Girardeau County’s prosecuting attorney’s office did not list addresses for Larmona-Cruz or Salinas.

Samuel C. Salinas

The Dodge Avenger had an Illinois license plate, according to a probable-cause statement.

Prosecuting Attorney Chris Limbaugh said at the time Larmona-Cruz and Salinas were living in the United States illegally.

Online court records list 3003 Themis St., Cape Girardeau, as the home address for Larmona-Cruz and Salinas.

Jackson emergency medical technician Brian Davie testified Black did not have a pulse and did not register a heartbeat on a cardiac monitor shortly after Davie arrived at the crash scene about 5:30 a.m.

Cape Girardeau police Cpl. Jason Jurgens, who completed a collision reconstruction, testified the Dodge Avenger driven by Larmona-Cruz struck the rear of the Geo Tracker while driving south on I-55 within Cape Girardeau city limits.

Both vehicles spun and slid off the right side of the roadway, Jurgens said. The Tracker overturned several times, according to Jurgens’ original probable-cause statement in the case, and struck a rock embankment, Jurgens said Tuesday.

Black was thrown from the vehicle even though he was wearing a seat belt, according to the statement.

Witness Christa Geiser was driving behind Larmona-Cruz and saw the Dodge Avenger swerve hard from the left lane into the Geo Tracker in the right lane.

She said she immediately called 911 after she pulled over behind another vehicle.

Cape Girardeau County sheriff’s Cpl. Scott Schnurbush was driving south on I-55, saw the accident and was the first law-enforcement officer at the scene.

Schnurbush went to check on Black but was told by Geiser that Larmona-Cruz and Salinas had been throwing beer cans out the windows of the Avenger, Schnurbush said.

Schnurbush tracked down Larmona-Cruz and Salinas, who had walked 75 to 100 feet south of the accident, he said.

Geiser checked Black’s pulse and described him as unresponsive, she said.

Brian Trudt said he was driving on southbound I-55 from Imperial, Missouri, and had seen the Dodge Avenger repeatedly on that drive.

He said the Avenger swerved halfway into the other lane at one point and drove at varying speeds, one time slowing to a crawl and another blazing past Trudt, who admitted he was driving more than 80 miles per hour.

“He passed me like I was sitting still,” Trudt said.

Geiser also said the Avenger was driving at a high rate of speed. Jurgens said Cape Girardeau police applied for a search warrant to download information from the Avenger that could indicate the vehicle’s speed, throttle percentage and any braking effort by the driver.

Trudt pulled over in an attempt to help people in the crash, he said.

He said he spoke to Larmona-Cruz, and in English, Larmona-Cruz responded, “Please help me; we need to get out of here.”

“I could tell he couldn’t speak much English,” Trudt said.

Geiser and Trudt said they saw Larmona-Cruz and Salinas throwing beer cans from the vehicle.

Larmona-Cruz required an interpreter, Rafael Saloma-Gonzalez, who translated everything said in the court hearing to Spanish.

Larmona-Cruz’s lawyer, Stephen Wilson, said Spanish was Larmona-Cruz’s second language but declined to comment on his client’s first language.

Droege said he communicated with Larmona-Cruz in English at the scene of the accident but used a call-in translating service after Larmona-Cruz was taken back to the station.

At the scene, Larmona-Cruz said they had two beers earlier that night.

The instructions for multiple sobriety tests were translated to Larmona-

Cruz in Spanish, and he said he understood his rights, Droege said.

Larmona-Cruz tested positive for several indicators for impairment tests, Droege said.

A breath test showed Larmona-Cruz’s blood-alcohol level was 0.159, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08, Droege said.

When asked by Wilson, Droege said all his interactions with Larmona-Cruz were recorded.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address: mile marker 99 I-55, Cape Girardeau, MO