Witnesses saw North Liberty teen strike jogger in crosswalk

IOWA CITY — Witnesses testified Tuesday they saw a North Liberty teen driving a sport utility vehicle hit a jogger — “flipping him up in the air,” one said — as the jogger ran across a marked crosswalk on Melrose Avenue and Kennedy Parkway in Iowa City.

Three witnesses said the SUV, driven by Jonathan J.F. McCaffery, 16 at the time, didn’t slow down May 22 until the vehicle hit the jogger, Cory Hite, 45, of Cedar Rapids, in the crosswalk. There is no stop sign or signal at the crosswalk, but there is a sign warning drivers in advance of the walkway.

Johnathan Brentner, who was driving to a hair cut appointment that day, said he was traveling east on Melrose Avenue. There were two cars ahead of him and he saw the pedestrian jogging in place on the sidewalk, waiting to cross.

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Hite was hit in the left lane of the crosswalk. “I saw him flying in the air,” Brentner said.

Brentner said McCaffery didn’t slow down before his vehicle struck the jogger.

McCaffery, now 17, is cited for failure to yield to a pedestrian in the right of way, a simple misdemeanor. McCaffery goes by the name of Jack and is the son of the University of Iowa men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery.

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Sixth Judicial District Magistrate Mark Neary heard testimony during a bench — or non jury — trial Tuesday and will file his written ruling later. McCaffery didn’t attend the hearing. He waived his personal appearance, which was granted by the judge, as long as he stipulated he was the driver in the fatal crash.

McCaffery, driving a 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe, is accused of striking Hite about 4:15 p.m. May 22. Hite, an Iowa National Guard soldier, later died. Under Iowa law, there is an enhancement for this misdemeanor when it results in a death, which includes a $1,000 fine, a driver's license suspension of up to 180 days or both, police said.

Witness Lynn Wright, a postal carrier driving a box truck, said she was headed west on Melrose Avenue, going back to the post office in Coralville, when she was came up to the intersection. She said another driver waved Hite to cross the street. Hite started across and McCaffery, driving in the left lane, hit him, Wright testified as she was tearing up. Wright said the SUV didn’t brake until it struck Hite, but “it was too late.”

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She said the teen got out of his vehicle and ran to the front and then ran to the back of his vehicle while making a call on his cell — she assumed to police.

Witness Cherie White, a mental health advocate for Johnson County, said she was headed home that day and was traveling west on Melrose. She said she was familiar with that intersection — it’s usually “stop and go” at the crosswalk, and up the street is a stop light that backs up traffic to the Kennedy Parkway intersection.

She saw the jogger go across the crosswalk, but didn’t see the Santa Fe strike him. Hite was face down on the pavement and his head was bleeding. White asked the teen if he had something she could use to apply pressure and stop the bleeding. McCaffery gave her a sweatshirt. Hite was breathing but unconscious, she said.

White, under cross examination, said that after emergency personnel arrived, she sat on the curb and talked with McCaffery. She said she felt bad for him and told him she didn’t know if he could have prevented the crash.

Kent Rolston, transportation planner for the city of Iowa City, testified the crosswalk has an advanced crosswalk warning sign for approaching drivers, and then another sign at the crosswalk. There aren’t any crosswalk signals but the crosswalk is marked and the signage has been there since 1996. The speed limit in the area is 35 mph, he said.

The 911 call made by McCaffery was played during the trial, and two police officers testified about the evidence and interviews with McCaffery.

McCaffery, in the 911 call, identified himself as “Jack” McCaffery and said a pedestrian ran out in front of his SUV and he hit him. The jogger was bleeding but he was breathing. He didn’t think the jogger, who was face down, was conscious.

Melvin Herrera, an Iowa City police officer, testified McCaffery told him vehicles were stopped in the right lane as he went by, and the jogger was in the crosswalk or in that area. McCaffery admitted he may have been going a little over the speed limit, the officer testified.

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Joseph Moreland, McCaffery’s lawyer, asked if McCaffery was cited for speeding. Herrera said no.

Ryan Schnackel, an Iowa City police technical investigator, said McCaffery also admitted there were cars stopped in the right lane when he drove up to the crosswalk. McCaffery said he was headed to Coral Ridge Mall at the time.

McCaffery, seen in Schnackel’s body camera video, said he didn’t have time to stop when the jogger came out in front of him. He was going “full speed.”

Schnackel wasn’t able to talk to Hite, who was in the intensive care unit at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Hite later died from his injuries.

On cross examination, Schnackel said he concluded McCaffery wouldn’t have been able to stop in that short period of time of when Hite came jogging across the street.

The defense called one witness, Eliza Ghabel, a Realtor in Iowa City, to testify. She was stopped at a corner near the intersection and heard the impact but didn’t see it. She was talking to client on phone at the time.

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She went over to the crash scene and saw Hite on the ground. Ghabel said she saw McCaffery and he looked “emotional.” He said the jogger ran out in front of him, and she wanted to console him.

Assistant Johnson County Attorney Jacob Behnke, in his closing argument, said that according to the law, a driver must yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk or is in violation of the law. McCaffery saw the cars stopped in the right lane, but he ignored those and went “full speed” through the intersection, Behnke said.

There were “plenty of indications,” Behnke said, for McCaffery to yield. He didn’t slow down at the intersection. Those failures led to Hite’s death, Behnke said.

Moreland, during his closing argument, said this was “tragic accident” and his heart goes out to the Hite family, who were in the courtroom.

The police concluded that McCaffery didn’t have time to stop or slow down before striking the jogger. He couldn’t yield in that short of time, Moreland said.

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