Jason McCombs: Guilty or Innocent?
For this case I watched an episode of Accused: Guilty or Innocent? It’s season 1 episode 5, titled ‘Deadly Driver.’
For this post it’ll be a little different because the case focuses more on the accused, rather than the victim. I will be talking about the car accident, the case from the prosecution and defense sides and about the verdict.
The Accident
On July 10, 2016, a man called 911. He said he just saw a bad car crash on Highway 71 in Llano County, Texas. The caller said it was ugly, and that there were definitely fatalities.
The victims were 87 year old Roland Greaves and his son Perry. Roland died at the scene, and Perry survived, but was left with severe injuries. The driver of the other vehicle was Jason McCombs, a married father of six. Jason’s car, a Lincoln SUV ended up in a ditch and caught on fire. Jason was pulled from the car by a passerby, and only had minor injuries. He was released from the hospital that day and was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of manslaughter.
Both survivors, Jason and Perry, had no recollection of the accident. However, Perry was left in a vegetative state, and the Greaves family wanted Jason to go to prison.
Jason in the Accused: Guilty or Innocent? episode
The Prosecution vs Defense
After the accident, Jason lost his job. He did get a new job as a general contractor at a roofing company. He was the sole beneficiary for his family.
Jason’s defense attorney Austin Shell told Jason that the prosecution was going to have to prove that he was inattentive, failed to drive in his lane and failed to control his car. If he was found guilty, he would be sentenced to between 2-10 years and 2-20 years for each count of what he was accused of.
The prosecution believed that Jason had been texting, and that’s why he swerved into the Greaves’ lane. However, when the defense looked through Jason’s phone records, it only showed he had been on the phone 37 minutes before the crash, and hadn’t sent any text messages. Jason’s own statement was that he had received a message from work shortly before the crash, but he also claims he doesn’t remember anything about the accident.
The other piece of evidence against Jason was that he had morphine in his system during the time of the accident. Jason said he had taken it the day before the accident for his back. Austin Shell obtained Jason’s toxicology report from the day of the accident, and it showed that Jason had less than 0.01 milligrams of morphine in his system.
Austin Shell, Jason, and Jason’s wife Ashley visited the crash site a few months before the trial. Austin took a video from the scene, and said that the sharp turn just before the accident could have led to the crash.
About two months before the trial, the prosecution offered Jason a plea deal. However, Jason and his attorney denied it. The Greaves’ had only agreed to the deal if it meant Jason would spend time in prison.
The Trial and Verdict
Just two weeks before the trial, the prosecution entered in some new evidence. The new evidence were pictures of Perry in the hospital after the accident. It was meant to evoke emotion, and it did. The pictures are of Perry in the hospital bed and wheelchair. He in a complete vegetive state, and it’s heartbreaking.
Jason’s trial was not filmed, due to the request of the Greaves’ family. The evidence was heard over two days. On the last day, Perry’s wife testified, and so did Jason. They were both emotional testimonies, and it affected everyone in the room.
On the final day, after 90 minutes of deliberation. The jury of six men and six women found Jason not guilty on all counts.
Other
Jason now works as an executive director at a assisted living facility.
Perry Greaves passed away in December 2019 due to an infection. My heart truly breaks for this family.
Perry Greaves before the accident
Jason’s dad Wayne had gotten sick before the trial, and he passed away in May 2020. Wayne was a police officer for 28 years, and the two of them were obviously very close.
Jason’s dad, Wayne
FINAL THOUGHTS
I honestly don’t think this was anything other than a tragic accident. I could tell that Jason truly thought about what happened every single day, and his family was affected as well. My heart breaks for both families, but especially for the Greaves’. They have now lost Roland and Perry, and I can understand why they wanted someone to pay for what happened. However, Jason was affected enough and will be for the rest of his life.
Sources
https://thecinemaholic.com/jason-mccombs/
https://thecinemaholic.com/perry-greaves/
https://heavy.com/entertainment/2020/05/jason-mccombs-today-update/
