Driver Charged After Fatal I-71 Corvette Crash

[onedef92]

Driver Charged After Fatal I-71 Crash
1 Killed, 1 Injured In I-71 Crash Late Sunday

POSTED: 6:32 am EST February 6, 2012
UPDATED: 8:40 am EST February 6, 2012

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- One person is dead and another charged with murder and DUI after a high-speed crash late Sunday night.

Police said one vehicle was involved in the crash around 11:30 p.m. on Interstate 71 north, near the Interstate 264 split.

Metro police said a Corvette was speeding on I-71 north when the driver, 51-year-old Robert Kempf, lost control of the vehicle.

Police said the car went off the roadway and flipped several times.

According to police, the passenger died at the scene and the driver was rushed to University Hospital.

“At this time, the Louisville Metro police traffic unit is investigating. At this time, we haven't ruled out any factors, such as alcohol, but definitely, according to witnesses, speed was also a factor as well,” said LMPD spokesman Dwight Mitchell.

Kempf was taken to Metro Corrections on Monday morning.

The stretch of I-71 near where the crash happened was closed while police investigated, but reopened in time for the Monday morning commute.

The name of the person killed in the crash has not been released.

LINK TO VIDEO
Driver Charged After Fatal I-71 Crash - Louisville News Story - WLKY Louisville (http://www.wlky.com/news/30386840/detail.html)

[onedef92]

Hope it wasn't a Forum member. From the sawblades in the video, it might have been an L-98 or LT1 car, but I can't tell for sure. :sadangel:

[Datawiz]

Name sounds familiar.

[NEVRL8T]

http://wave.images.worldnow.com/images/16683383_BG2.jpg

http://wave.images.worldnow.com/images/16683383_BG1.jpg

http://media.whas11.com/images/I71+fatal+crash+corvette+02.jpg

http://wdrb.images.worldnow.com/images/16683281_BG3.jpg

http://wdrb.images.worldnow.com/images/16683281_BG1.jpg



50-year-old Michael Carr -- died at the scene

[onedef92]

Looks like it was a 'Vert, not a coupe. Those fender slits? 1994 LT1?

[Corey_68]

How is It murder and not manslaughter?

[Bucwheat]

:sadangel: Sorry to hear

[NEVRL8T]

Looks like it was a 'Vert, not a coupe. Those fender slits? 1994 LT1?

:iagree: I think it's a '94.

[GentleBen]

How is It murder and not manslaughter?

If someone dies as the result of a crime (in this case DUI) then the charge is normally Murder.

[onedef92]

Name sounds familiar.

That's what I'm afraid of, too.... :sadangel:

[onedef92]

Boy, that composite IRS leaf spring got twisted all to hell didn't it?

[Mirroredshades]

How is It murder and not manslaughter?

If someone dies as the result of a crime (in this case DUI) then the charge is normally Murder.


Felony-Murder Rule

If they charge him with felony eluding, murder. And felony eluding is a lot easier to prove than murder.

But any decent lawyer should be able to get that down to manslaughter. 18 months in a country club and he's out.

[onedef92]

Felony-Murder Rule

If they charge him with felony eluding, murder. And felony eluding is a lot easier to prove than murder.

But any decent lawyer should be able to get that down to manslaughter. 18 months in a country club and he's out.

If that's his mug shot, it looks like he made out with nary a scratch, too.

[Mirroredshades]

If that's his mug shot, it looks like he made out with nary a scratch, too.


Drunk drivers never die, it's always the passenger that gets it.

:needcoffee:

[onedef92]

Drunk drivers never die, it's always the passenger that gets it.

:needcoffee:

More often than not, that seems to be the case.

[HeatherO]

the passenger was probably drunk, too!!

[...Whitepower...]

If that's his mug shot, it looks like he made out with nary a scratch, too.

Previous mug shot is my guess.

[GreyGhost]

:iagree: I think it's a '94.

Either a 95 or 96, those years had different "gills".

[onedef92]

Driver in I-71 fatal crash has prior DUI charges

Posted on February 6, 2012 at 6:05 PM
Updated yesterday at 9:26 PM

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A check of Robert Hubert Kempf III the third's arrest record shows three prior arrests for drinking and driving -- all three in the 1980's.

To a woman whose son was killed in that same decade - it is not ancient history.

Though an official blood alcohol test is pending, police said 51-year-old Kempf admitted to drinking and driving.

Police said he was driving a Corvette at an extreme high rate of speed on Interstate 71 north when it overturned near the Watterson Expressway split just after 11 p.m. Sunday. Kempf's passenger, 49-year-old Michael Carr was killed.

A check of Kempf’s arrest history shows three prior arrests for drinking and driving - all in the 1980's when he was in his 20s.

For Sharon Hatfield, whose 8-year-old son was killed 30 years ago, those prior arrests should still factor into Kempf's punishment.

As for Michael Carr, the man who died in the crash, the coroner is asking the public's health to find his next of kin. WHAS11 stopped by his last known address on Sunfield Circle in Eastern Jefferson County but could not find anyone who knew him.

If you know Michael Carr or have any information about his next of kin, call the coroner's office at 502-574-6262.

[Thud]

Hope it wasn't a Forum member. From the sawblades in the video, it might have been an L-98 or LT1 car, but I can't tell for sure. :sadangel:

"Metro police said a 1995 white Corvette was speeding on I-71 north"

[onedef92]

"Metro police said a 1995 white Corvette was speeding on I-71 north"


LT1 it is, then.

[onedef92]

Victim killed in suspected DUI crash remembered by friend

Posted: Feb 07, 2012 9:48 PM EST
Updated: Feb 07, 2012 11:45 PM EST

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – Friends are mourning the loss the of a man killed in a suspected drinking and driving crash Sunday night. It was a one car accident, the passenger was killed and the driver- his friend- is charged with his death.

51-year-old Robert Kempf is currently behind bars. He is charged with DUI and murder after the crash.

"He loved football, his beer and fast cars," said Michael Reynolds, friend of man killed in crash.

On Super Bowl Sunday, it was a deadly a combination for 48-year-old Michael Carr.

"That's the last thing he enjoyed before he left," said Reynolds.

Reynolds has known Carr for more than 30 years. He saw the crash on the news, but had no idea until a phone call, that his friend was the one who died.

"It just took my breath away," said Reynolds.

Police say Kempf was speeding in the 1995 white Corvette when he lost control on I-71 near the Watterson and flipped the car several times. "They probably just weren't thinking that this accident was going to happen, who ever does," said Reynolds.

The Louisville native was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the police report, Kempf admitted to drinking prior in the evening. While Reynolds is angry at the driver, he doesn't know how to feel about the serious charges brought against him.

"If just one person could take away, what I'm saying and not get behind the wheel when drinking, then that would be justice done," said Reynolds.

Reynolds says Carr leaves behind no close family members, his mother and father died years ago, and he never married.

"There's just not enough money to give him a proper burial, so they are speaking of giving him a government burial or a county burial, and letting people come out for about 15 minutes to say their good-byes," said Reynolds. "He was just a wonderful person."

A judge lowered Kempf's bond to $250,000 at the request of his lawyer. He is due back in court later this month.