HANOVER COUNTY, Va. — The 18-year-old driver charged in an April 2016 crash that killed two people and injured four others will remain in jail until his trial.
A Hanover judge denied bond to Seth Fleming, calling him a danger to himself and to a lesser extent others.
The judge made that statement after hearing from a pre-trial supervisor who testified Fleming was terminated from a rehabilitation program at New Life Journey after he tested positive for cocaine and missed one than one appointment.
The judge was not swayed by the testimony of others who saw Fleming had been successfully volunteering with the homeless at Moments of Hope Outreach. His parents also argued Fleming would be monitored 24/7 upon his release.
Fleming was charged with involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of Dylan Ballard, 17, and Elliott Hinton, 22.
Ballard was a Lee-Davis High senior, and Hinton was a 2011 graduate of the school, enrolled at Radford University.
They died at the scene when Fleming’s Dodge Ram left the road and slammed into a tree on Cold Harbor Road.
The vehicle was traveling 10 mph over the posted speed limit; 55 in a 45mph zone, according to court documents.
A passenger told police that everyone had been drinking and smoking marijuana at the pond where they had gone for a swim after the NASCAR races.
Police also detected a strong odor coming from the vehicle and there were a lot of beer cans found inside.
