Lang
8/25/19
The competency of an Iowa City man facing a murder charge after initiating a head-on collision on Interstate 80 is being questioned.
32-year-old Stephen Lucore is charged with 1st Degree Murder, Vehicular Homicide, Serious Injury By Vehicle and four counts of Willful Injury Causing Serious Injury. According to The Cedar Rapids Gazette, Lucore’s lawyers filed a motion earlier this week arguing that their client is not competent to stand trial. They say Lucore has a long history of “mental disorder and treatment”, has been uncooperative in assisting in his own defense and is unable to understand his situation due to possible delusions.
Lucore’s attorneys say a few weeks before the crash he was removed from the roof of a parking ramp from which he intended to jump.
Lucore is accused of driving his Hyundai Sonata the wrong way on I-80, allegedly in an attempt to kill himself. He survived the June 16th collision, but a passenger in the car he hit, identified as 64-year-old Robert Sawyer of Nocona, Texas, died of his injuries. Another passenger was airlifted to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for treatment of her injuries. The driver and Lucore were transported by ambulance.
Police say Lucore was driving at 80 miles an hour without his headlights on; he was not wearing his seatbelt. He allegedly told authorities that he was trying to kill himself.
Lucore was on probation for a domestic abuse charge at the time of the crash. A probation revocation hearing is scheduled for November 18th.
He remains jailed on $1 million bail. If convicted, he faces life in prison with no parole.
Earlier this week a competency hearing was set for September 20th.