Inset: Kenyan Roshad Warren (Knox County DA). Background: The intersection where Warren struck and killed a woman in 2022 (WVLT).
A 46-year-old man in Tennessee will likely spend several years behind bars for driving drunk and high before striking two pedestrians, killing one and severely injuring the other before getting out of his vehicle and kicking one of the victims.
A jury in Knox County this week found Kenyan Roshad Warren guilty on charges of vehicular homicide, driving under the influence, and reckless aggravated assault, authorities announced.
The verdict came down following a five-day trial before County Criminal Judge Hector Sanchez.
According to a news release from the Knox County District Attorney”s Office, the fatal crash took place on the night of Aug. 6, 2022. Officers with the Knoxville Police Department responded to reports of a vehicular collision involving pedestrians in the 1900 block of North Broadway. Upon arriving at the site, first responders found two victims who had been hit as they were crossing the street. Both were rushed to the University of Tennessee Medical Center.
One of the victims died as a result of injuries suffered in the crash. She was later identified as Stephanie Llewellyn, according to a report from Knoxville CBS affiliate WVLT.
The other victim was rushed to a local hospital with severe injuries — “including a skull fracture that exposed part of his brain” — but survived.
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While on the scene, officers said they saw Warren take a beer can and throw it under his vehicle. He was also described as having bloodshot eyes, smelling of alcohol, and being “unsteady on his feet.”
Witnesses to the crash spoke to investigators, confirming that Warren was driving the vehicle and providing damning accounts of his behavior in the immediate aftermath of striking the victims.
“Witnesses stated that prior to police arrival, Warren walked over to one of the victims and kicked her, telling her to get up,” the release states. “He then cursed at her and tried to drag her out of the roadway.”
Warren initially refused to allow authorities to test his blood, but a mandatory blood draw later showed that his blood alcohol concentration was 0.106. The tests also came back positive for cocaine and marijuana.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Mitch Eisenberg and Caleb Smothers of the office’s DUI Unit.
“In back-to-back trials, the hard-working members of my DUI Unit have secured convictions to hold impaired drivers accountable for the devastating consequences of their decisions,” Knox County District Attorney Charme Allen said in a statement after the verdict.
Warren will appear in court again before Judge Sanchez for his sentencing hearing on Aug. 20.
The vehicular homicide charge carries a sentence of three to six years while the punishment for the aggravated assault charge is two to four years. Prosecutors said that at Warren’s sentencing hearing they will request that his sentences be served consecutively.
