(MARK A. SORSAIA PUTNAM COUNTY Phone: (204) 586-0205 ae OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY Fax: (04) 586-0269 Putnam County Judicial Building 12093 Winfield Road Winfield, WV 25213-7907 To Whom It May Concern: Regarding the investigation pertaining to the death of Jacqueline Hudson. Date of death December 30, 2022. On January 9, 2023, a request was made to the Circuit Court of Cabell County, West Virginia, through the Prosecuting Attorney's Institute, for the appointment of a special prosecuting attorney to investigate and potentially prosecute crimes relating to the above reference matter. On or about that time, the Circuit Court of Cabell County, West Virginia, signed an order of appointment of special prosecutor naming me, Mark A. Sorsaia, as the Prosecuting Attomey of Putnam County, West Virginia to investigate this matter, and potentially prosecute any crimes that may come to my attention through said investigation, The circumstances pertaining to the death of Jacqueline Hudson were investigated by Huntington Police Department, the West Virginia State Police (lead investigative agency), and the West Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. ‘On December 30, 2022, at approximately 10:34 p.m., Jacqueline Hudson was with a group of other teenage children, at a location being the intersection of 31* Street and 5" Avenue in Huntington, West Virginia. At the same time, an off-duty Cabell County Deputy Sheriff by the name of J. S. Racer Jr. was in his patrol vehicle approaching said intersection with a female companion present in the car. According to information and belief, two juveniles, one being Jacqueline Hudson and the other teenage friend, unexpectedly ran out into the intersection in which Deputy Racer was proceeding to go through. Unfortunately, Jaqueline Hudson was struck by Deputy Racer's car and tragically died, The other juvenile in question who ran out into the intersection did not get hit by the car and suffered no physical injuries from the vehicle. Upon my information and belief, Deputy Racer was off duty at the time while accompanied by a female companion. It is also my understanding that Deputy Racer was in the process of delivering his police cruiser to his girlfriend's personal residence for it to be available to him first thing the next morning for his daily work shift as Deputy Sheriff. ‘E Mal: PROSECUTINGATTORNEY@PUTNAMWV.0RG ‘Website: worn putnampros.com‘Through this investigation, | discovered that the decedent, Jacqueline Hudson, joined a group of other teenage children earlier that evening. During that time, just prior to the accident, she, along with the other juveniles in question, drank alcoholic beverages (beer,) and also engaged in smoking marijuana that was laced with a substance known as K2. | leaned from this investigation that Jacqueline Hudson, along with the others, unfortunately became intoxicated by consuming the beer, as well as being severely impaired by smoking marijuana laced with K2. State Police downloaded Jacqueline Hudson's cell phone. There was a video on said phone of the juveniles in question running around in the intersection just prior to the accident. While in the middle of the street, they were saying, “We are all messed up." It is commonly known in law enforcement circles that when a young person smokes marijuana laced with K2, it can severely impact their behavior, impair their judgement and their physical actions. K2 is known as a synthetic substance that is commonly used to enhance marijuana’ effects. Deputy Racer gave a statement to law enforcement that he was approaching the intersection of 5 Avenue and 31* Street. He realized he had a green light. When he proceeded through the intersection, he saw two pedestrians running across the road in front of him. He attempted to stop the vehicle but was unable to avoid hitting one of the children. He then stopped and called 911 for assistance. The investigation regarding this matter included two sobriety tests conducted upon Deputy Racer. One was a preliminary breath test resulting in a .000 Blood Alcohol Content, which indicates no presence of alcoholic beverage in his system. The other sobriety test, conducted by the West Virginia State Police in Huntington, was a standardized field sobriety test by a state trooper who is a certified drug recognition expert. This test also indicated that there was no sign of impairment. The West Virginia State Police called for the assistance of Sergeant R. A. Marsh of the West Virginia State Police, Troop 6, Welch Detachment Crash Reconstruction Unit. Sergeant Marsh is known as one of the state's leading experts in the State Police concerning accident reconstruction. Sergeant Marsh attempted to download what is commonly known as the “black box,” but such attempt did not provide any useful information. Being an older model vehicle, the black box did not activate to give precise information regarding the speed of the vehicle and other relevant factors. Sergeant Marsh attempted to produce an estimate of the potential speed of Deputy Racer's car. This was undertaken by measuring the skid marks, the location of the child's body, and other factors. His analysis concluded that it could be an estimated speed between 47 and 55 miles per hour, within an average of 47.9 miles per hour, using the energy lost formulas skid to stop, with a range of adjusted drive factors to included 75% per 100% braking speed. This information is an estimate based on scientifically accepted formulas of relevant factors, and does not provide an established factual number, but a range of possibilities. West Virginia State Police on February 1, 2023, at approximately the same time the accident occurred, conducted a speed survey at the intersection of 31* Street and 5” ‘Avenue, by using radar gun technology, to determine in a one-hour period what the average speed of travel individuals engage in going through said intersection. During an approximate one-hour period, Corporal Swope recorded sixty-three speed samples fromvehicles via lidar (speed radar.) The lowest and highest values were dropped from the survey to include 37 miles per hour and 75 miles per hour. The median speed for the area was 49 miles per hour. Even though the survey taken on February 1, 2023, does not eliminate the possibility that Deputy Racer was exceeding the speed limit, it does indicate that the speed that he was driving is well within the average of speed limits used by individuals using that particular location of the roadway. As stated earlier, there were two young ladies that ran out into the road; one being the decedent, Jaqueline Hudson, and the other being a juvenile who will remain anonymous. The other young lady in question was apparently transported to a hospital in Huntington where she was physically out of control, delusional, and even potentially violently biting a certain adult individual. This is the same young lady that ran out in the road with the decedent at the time of the decedent death and was fortunately not injured in the accident. Based upon the information listed above, there is strong evidence to suggest that, tragically, the decedent, Jacqueline Hudson, was significantly impaired on the night of her death, due to the fact that she consumed alcohol and smoked marijuana laced with K2. Legal Analysis The prosecuting attorney investigation of this matter was to determine if the evidence warranted that Deputy Racer could be charged with negligent homicide, under a West Virginia Code Section §17C-5-1. The negligent homicide statute states the following, “When the death of any person ensues within one year as approximate result of injury received by the driving of any vehicle anywhere in the state in reckless disregard of the safety of others, the person so operating such vehicle shall be guilty of negligent homicide. Negligent Homicide would have the penalty of not more than one year or by a fine of not less than $100.00 nor more than $1,000.00, or both, and their driver's license would be revoked.” In the case of State of West Virginia vs. Marjorie Virginia Green, 647 S.E. 2d 736 (2007) our Supreme Court stated, “Our negligent homicide statute requires the driving of a vehicle in the reckless disregard of the safety of others, and this means that more than negligence is required.” A conviction for negligent homicide must not be premised solely upon the violation of a traffic statute unless the underlying act is evidence of a reckless disregard for the safety of others, characterized by negligence so gross, wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life. Based on this law, if the State of West Virginia were to charge Deputy Racer with negligent homicide, the state would have to prove a reckless disregard for the safety of others characterized by negligence so gross, wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life. The law specifically says that more than negligence is. required, in that it must be willful wanton disregard of the safety of others, which implies that there must be a conscious decision made where one would know they are putting other lives at risk. The law clearly states that if for some reason it could be proven that Deputy Racer was just speeding, that would not justify charging negligent homicide. Considering the circumstances listed above, even if it could be argued that DeputyRacer was exceeding the speed limit, there is no conceivable way to exactly produce a number denoting his speed at the time, which would be required in charging him with a speeding violation. The evidence given by accident reconstruction provided a range of possible speed. The fact that the survey of the speed limits by others’ vehicles commonly using that intersection indicates that Deputy Racer's possible speed was in the range of what other individuals commonly use in that location. This obviously does not take away from the required speed limit, but clearly shows that Deputy Racer was not engaging in activity that would be considered a reckless disregard to the safety of others as required by case law. Based on the evidence that I have seen from this investigation, tragically, I've concluded that the significant factors that caused the death of the juvenile, Jacqueline Hudson, was that she, along with a group of other individuals, were intoxicated by drinking alcoholic beverages, and were severely impaired by using marijuana, laced with the synthetic substance known as K2. The autopsy report of Jacqueline Hudson shows positive findings of Delta 8 and Delta 9 THC, consistent with the use of marijuana, and a blood alcohol concentration in her blood. The evidence in the investigation also shows that the other child who ran out into the road with Jacqueline Hudson was severely impaired with marijuana laced with K2, as well as alcohol, and was physically and mentally out of control and taken to the hospital The evidence clearly shows in this case that the tragic loss of Jacqueline Hudson was not a result of the negligence of Deputy Racer. | believe that the loss of Jacqueline Hudson was a direct result of a thirteen-year-old juvenile, who was exposed to the use of alcohol and marijuana laced with K2 synthetic substances, that severely affected her judgement and ability to make rational decisions, and subsequently led to her running in front of the car. Therefore, | am taking the position that Deputy J. S. Racer will not face any criminal charges as a result of this accident. | do not believe that | have any ‘evidence sufficient to allege to any Court to justify a warrant for his arrest. On a personal note, | want to point out that during my lifetime and professional career, | have encountered situations in which an individual driving a car had the unfortunate experience of killing a pedestrian through an accidental circumstance. | believe we all need to keep in mind that this is a tragic event, especially regarding the loss of a child, which results not only in a horrific tragedy for the child and the child’s family, but also a horrific tragedy for the individual who was driving the car. One difficult aspect of this situation is that Deputy Racer will be plagued by this tragedy for the rest of his life, knowing that he operated a motor vehicle that took the life of a young girl. In reviewing these facts, a prosecutor has an obligation to be fair and impartial about the circumstances for all involved. Our prayers and sincere condolences go to the family and friends of Jacqueline “Laney” Hudson.Mok. 4, Mark A. Sorsaia Prosecuting Attorney, Putnam County Special Prosecutor for Cabell County Re Jaqueline Hudson matter slul 2023