CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- A Richmond man facing charges for a deadly hit and run crash was denied bond in Chesterfield court on Monday morning.
Monday morning's arraignment of Elvin McCray in Chesterfield District Court lasted only a few minutes but happened in two parts.
McCray is facing three charges related to a crash that happened on September 14 that killed 21-year-old Wade Bibey in the 9700 block of Iron Bridge Road.
Bibey was a plumber who worked only a few miles from the crash. His colleagues described him as a "great kid".
Chesterfield Police said while they're still investigating the crash, they believe Bibey was at fault. Despite this, McCray ran from the scene.
McCray turned himself in last Friday and is facing charges of felony hit and run, driving with a revoked license and driving without a commercial driver's license.
In court on Monday, the judge asked McCray if he wanted to hire his own attorney or have one appointed.
McCray, who appeared by video, said it would depend. He said if he got bond, he could keep working and hire an attorney but would need to be appointed one if he remained behind bars.
The judge told McCray he "wouldn't be getting out today" and referenced that he's accused of running away from the scene of this crash and has four failure to appear charges in Powhatan County.
CBS 6 Legal Analyst Todd Stone said considering those allegations, no bond is not surprising.
"The purpose of the bond hearing is to ensure that there's a bond in place if someone's a risk of not coming back to court or they're a risk to society in some way," Stone said.
McCray was then appointed someone from the public defender's office but was called back a few minutes later and told he would get a private practice attorney. The public defenders told the court there was a conflict in this case as one of their employees witnessed the crash.
"It's important that the representation be conflict-free and that it'd be totally above-board
and, you know, not something where he can come back one day and say, well, my lawyer you know wasn't really on my side because, you know, he was a witness in the case," Stone said.
The crash involving McCray and Bibey was the third in the span of a week in a roughly five-mile stretch of Iron Bridge Rd. People who drove the stretch of road regularly said what they saw along the road as a "not good situation" — and said they consistently saw tailgating, distracted driving, and congestion.
CBS 6 reached out to Chesterfield County Vice Chair and Dale District Supervisor (where the three crashes happened) Jim Holland about the issue.
“As our Police Department continues its work, they have indicated speed was a factor in one of the crashes, and possibly a second as well. They have also found no indication that ongoing roadwork in the area was a contributing factor in any of these incidents. Nonetheless, we still encourage all motorists to be cautious when traveling near or through any construction zone, for their safety and that of road crews. On behalf of the Board of Supervisors, I extend my sincerest sympathies to all of those impacted by these recent tragedies,” said Holland in a statement.
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