Marble Hill man charged after fatal crash

A Marble Hill, Missouri, man was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter after a fatal accident Monday.

David A. Sturm, 21, was driving his Ford F250 east about 2:30 p.m. Monday on Bollinger County Road 458 five miles east of Marble Hill when the truck skidded on the gravel road, struck a tree and overturned, coming to a rest in the roadway. His passenger, 24-year-old Jacob A. Canoy, died.

"I was mad, I was drinking, I was driving," Sturm said, according to Missouri State Highway patrolman D.J. McBride's probable-cause statement. "I killed my best friend."

Canoy was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:15 p.m. by Bollinger County Coroner Charles Hutchings.

Sturm sustained minor injuries and was transported to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau after his arrest.

Sturm was given a Breathalyzer test at the scene that tested positive for alcohol and tested positive again at Cape Girardeau County Jail nearly two hours later.

"This would put Sturm's blood-alcohol content at approximately 0.12 percent at the time of the crash," McBride wrote about the later test. Missouri's minimum standard for driving under the influence of alcohol is 0.08 percent.

Sturm told McBride he had been smoking marijuana in his truck earlier that day. A pipe and grinder were found at the scene, and Sturm said they were his.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

Bollinger County Road 458, Marble Hill, Mo.