Hunter/Lang
04/05/21
A Johnson County judge has delayed trial for an Iowa City man accused of initiating a head-on collision on Interstate 80 in 2019 that resulted in the death of a Texas man.
33-year-old Stephen Lucore waived his right to a trial by jury on March 5th., and trial was set for April 6th. On March 8th, a continuance was granted, and a case management conference has been scheduled for June 11th.
Lucore allegedly told authorities he was trying to kill himself the evening of June 16th. He was driving his Hyundai Sonata eastbound in the westbound lanes without his headlights, traveling at 80 miles an hour when he collided with a Honda head-on. The driver, David Sawyer of Frisco Texas, survived the collision, but one of his passengers, 64-year-old Robert Sawyer of Nocona Texas, died of his injuries. Four other passengers in Sawyer’s car were injured.
Police say a few weeks before the crash, Lucore tried to kill himself by jumping off a parking ramp.
In 2017, Lucore was given a deferred judgement and probation on a Domestic Abuse Assault Impeding Airflow charge, and faces a probation revocation hearing on May 17th. It’s the seventh time the hearing has been continued since originally set in May 2019.
Lucore faces life in prison if convicted of 1st degree Murder for the vehicle incident. He’s also charged with Vehicular Homicide, Serious Injury by vehicle, and four counts of Willful Injury causing Bodily Injury.