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Vandergriff trial continues in Putnam County

PUTNAM COUNTY, W.Va. — The trial of a Scott Depot man accused of striking a man with his car continued on Wednesday.

Morgan Vandergriff, 39, allegedly hit John Maynard in May 2018 on Ranch Lake Boulevard. Maynard was reportedly at the edge of a driveway at the time of the incident.

Seven witnesses testified on Wednesday, two of which said they saw the crash.

Eleanor Edwards said Maynard was yelling at Vandergriff to slow down for a stopped school bus, and Patti Joseph said Vandergriff sped up before hitting Maynard.

“He came down and landed on his side, and then he rolled onto his stomach,” Joseph said. “I thought, ‘Oh my Lord, he has killed him.'”

Edwards said Maynard had a beer can in his hand at the time.

Vandergriff told someone that a person on an ATV threw a beer bottle at him, causing him to swerve and hit someone on the ATV, and the person got off the vehicle and ran over a hill.

Dr. Allen Mock, the state’s Chief Medical Examiner, said Maynard went through some sort of trauma, noting serious injuries on the head and a dislocated spine; a report from Mock states Maynard was hit by a “recklessly operated vehicle.”

The trial will continue Thursday morning at 8:30.





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