CLAY, W.Va. — A Clay County father has been charged with being high when he wrecked his vehicle last month into a parked front-end loader killing his two sons and injury one of their friends.
State police have charged James Neal, 34, of Bickmore, with two counts of DUI causing death, two counts of child neglect resulting in death, one count of DUI causing serious bodily injury and one count of child neglect creating risk of injury or death.
He was arraigned Wednesday in Clay County Magistrate Court.
A detailed criminal complaint said Neal admitted he had ingested meth and smoked marijuana in the two days before he drove his sons James Neal III, 7, and Zayden Hurley, 13, and their friend to a football scrimmage in Richwood on Saturday, Aug. 22.
State police said Neal crashed his SUV into the parked piece of equipment on U.S. Route 16 at Indore in Clay County on the return trip home. The collision claimed the lives of Neal III, who was in the front seat and his brother. Hurley, who was in the back passenger side seat. A 14-year-old boy, identified only by his initials E.M., was critically injured. He was in the driver’s side back seat.
MORE Read criminal complaint here
The investigating trooper said Neal first told him he had fallen asleep and woke up right before the collision. He later admitted to taking meth a day and a half before the crash and smoking marijuana the day before.
Neal told the trooper he had been clean for about five years but recently began taking meth again and that he was doing so every couple of days.
State police said they recently got back the results of a blood test that showed both meth and marijuana in Neal’s blood.
The death of the boys has impacted the Clay County community.
Hurley and the surviving teen attended school at Clay Middle School while Neal was a student at Clay Elementary, but formerly attended Big Otter Elementary. The boys were well known at the high school as well because of football ties, Clay County Superintendent Philip Dobbins previously told MetroNews.
“We convened a meeting on Sunday (the day after the crash) to have a plan of support for both students and staff,” said Dobbins. “Obviously, it was a somber day to say the least, but that’s how we got the support we needed was through our own and through Braxton County’s (school system) support.”
Neal is being held in the Central Regional Jail on $1 million bail.
He was asked by WCHS-TV at his arraignment if he had any comment, Neal said, “I didn’t kill my kids on purpose.”