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Two Men Indicted For Second-Degree Murder In Separate Fatal DUI Crashes

A grand jury in Iredell County, North Carolina has indicted two men charged in separate fatal DUI crashes. On August 11, Statesville, North Carolina resident James Dean Harmon and Mooresville, North Carolina resident Timothy George Kohuth were indicted on second-degree murder charges.

Both men are also facing additional charges including driving under the influence.

Kohuth is charged in connection with a wreck that occurred on July 31 and took the life of 71-year-old Mooresville resident Wesley Worden. According to troopers, Kohuth’s blood-alcohol content was .43, more than five times the legal limit of .08.

Worden’s wife, Gail Worden, sustained personal injuries in the crash and was transported by air to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. She has since been released.

According to troopers, on August 2, Harmon struck and killed 17-year-old Jacob Michael Lutz who was walking with a friend at approximately 2:30 a.m.

According to troopers, Harmon fled the scene and was later apprehended when Trooper Chad Crouse spotted a vehicle with a broken windshield as he was working another crash.

Both men are repeat offenders of DUI. According to reports, Harmon has three prior offenses, two in 1987 and 1988 in North Carolina and one earlier this year in West Virginia.

Harmon has a record of numerous speeding violations in Iredell County dating back more than 23 years.

Kohuth has two prior DUI offenses in Iredell County, both taking place in 2006. He also received a citation for boating while impaired in 2006.

As part of the conditions of the reinstatement of Kohuth’s driver’s license from his second conviction, he was required to have an alcohol interlock device installed in his vehicle. However, according to Trooper D.J. Reid, the device was installed in his SUV, but not in the rollback wrecker he was driving when the crash occurred.