The trial of a man from Staunton accused of the driving death of a woman from Grottoes began February 27 in Augusta County Circuit Court.
Jeremy Rasnake, 21, has been charged with reckless involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence.
According to the prosecution, after a night of drinking and just three hours of sleep, Rasnake was on his way to work just after 7 a.m. on May 23 when the 1988 Ford Bronco he was driving drifted over the center line on U.S. 340 in Stuarts Draft and collided head-on with the car of 40-year-old Cheryl Sheaves. Sheaves, a mother of three, died two days later at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville.
In the opening statements, the prosecution said that Rasnake’s blood-alcohol content was measured to be .095 after the crash.
According to Rasnake’s attorney, alcohol was not a factor in the crash; rather it was because he fell asleep at the wheel.
A jury of 11 women and one man are seated for the trial.
