Coach McCaffery’s teen son pleads not guilty in fatal crash

IOWA CITY — A North Liberty teenager cited for a traffic violation in a May 22 crash that resulted in the death of an Iowa National Guard soldier pleaded not guilty Monday and will have a trial in August.

Jonathan J.F. McCaffery, 17, waived his initial appearance and pleaded not guilty to failure to yield to a pedestrian in the right of way, a simple misdemeanor, according to court documents. A magistrate set his trial for Aug. 29, in Johnson County Associate District Court.

McCaffery was cited last week for the traffic violation stemming from a crash at the intersection of Melrose Avenue and Kennedy Parkway in Iowa City. He was driving a 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe that struck Corey Hite, 45, of Cedar Rapids, who was out for a jog about 4:16 p.m. on May 22. McCaffery, who was 16 at the time of the crash, goes by the name Jack. He is the son of the University of Iowa men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery.

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.

Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann Smith said last week she couldn’t talk about the facts of a pending case.

In a statement distributed last Wednesday by an Iowa City law firm, Fran and Margaret McCaffery — Jonathan McCaffery’s parents — called the crash, which happened just after their son left school, a “tragedy” that has “devastated” their family.

“Investigators have told us that it was an unavoidable accident with no evidence to suggest distracted driving,” the McCafferys’ statement says. “The pedestrian, who was jogging at the time of the accident, was waved in front of our son’s passing vehicle by the driver of another vehicle.”

Jonathan McCaffery signed a promise to appear last Monday and paid a $288 unsecured bond, according to the citation.

Last week, police wouldn’t fully explain why it took two months to charge the teen.

“It is our duty and responsibility to conduct thorough investigations and thorough investigations — particularly those involving a death — take time. We do not identify those involved in an investigation unless that person has been charged,” police said in a statement.

Police previously hadn’t identified the driver. The Gazette had requested a recording of the 911 call related to the crash, but the request was denied shortly after the crash and it was denied again last week. Police, in the statement, said all other information related to this case is confidential under Iowa law.

Hite was three weeks from retirement with the National Guard when he died June 4, nearly two weeks after the crash.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com