DEXTER, Mo. -- Life as he knew it changed forever on the evening of Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, for Jason L. Summers, 37, a competitive bicyclist who was struck from behind while riding along a stretch of Highway 25, one-half mile south of Bloomfield just after 7 p.m.
The driver of the vehicle that struck Summers reportedly fled the scene and failed to report the incident, leaving the crumpled body of Jason Summers to be found by concerned family members more than two hours later. His bike was found some 30 feet from where Summers came to rest. A cell phone he'd been carrying was later found shattered some distance from where the impact took place.
Summers was first taken by ambulance to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau and later airlifted to St. Louis for surgery and treatment.
Summers sustained fractures to his spine, four breaks to his left arm requiring several screws to be surgically inserted, permanent loss of mobility in his left wrist and arm, and damage to his left leg, along with abrasions from the roadway over 20 to 30 percent of his body. He continues to recuperate from his injuries.
On Thursday, Feb. 1, a 28-year-old Dexter woman, Courtney D. Stotts, appeared in the Stoddard County courtroom of Judge Joe Satterfield for a preliminary hearing to determine if probable cause existed for her to be held for further proceedings and a trial. Three witnesses appeared for the state -- Jason Summers, and Missouri Highway Patrol Troopers Russ Gibson and D.M. Wilburn.
As a result of the evidence presented, Stotts has been charged with the Class E felony of leaving the scene of an accident and the Class E felony of tampering with physical
evidence.
Gibson and Wilburn are credited with the investigation that subsequently led to the charges coming forward.
According to Gibson's testimony during the Feb. 1 court appearance, he found debris from the collision at the scene of the collision and marked the locations, noting that Summers was thrown approximately 140 feet upon impact. Gibson said he reviewed security camera footage from Wyatt's One Stop in Bloomfield and witnessed Summers on his bicycle, heading south.
The video showed a white pickup truck and a commercial vehicle, also headed south "a short time later."
Through the investigative process, Wilburn, located a 2015 white pickup truck at a body shop in Albany, Mo. He subsequently examined and photographed the vehicle.
"The photographs and testimony indicated the truck had extensive damage to the bumper, bumper cover, fender, headlight assembly and hood on the passenger side," the report stated.
Furthermore, there was a dent on the roof of the truck on the passenger side. Wilburn testified that he took a photo of the truck's bumper cover showing what he believed to be a tire mark consistent with a mark left by a bicycle tire. He also said a witness had reportedly seen a sticker on the back glass of the truck, and when questioned, the shop employees said they had removed a sticker with the letters, C, D, and S" -- the initials of Courtney D. Stotts -- and put it in the trash.
When Gibson had interviewed Stotts previously, she had reportedly told the trooper that she had attended a wedding at a private residence north of Bloomfield on Sept. 30, 2017, and had left the residence around 7 p.m.
She told the officer that her truck had been damaged when she hit a turkey in the roadway that evening and had taken her truck to the auto shop in Albany the next morning for repairs.
On Friday, Feb. 9, Stotts was bound over for further proceeding in Division of the Circuit Court of Stoddard County.
A warrant was issued on Oct. 30, 2017 for the arrest of Courtney Stotts, and a cash only bond of $20,000 was set. She was eventually represented by Dustin L. Mayer, and on Nov. 7, he requested the court amend the bond. The bond was amended to $40,000, with 10 percent allowed. Bond was posted, and she was released.
On Nov 8, 2017, Mayer asked the case be continued to Nov. 16. On Nov. 15, Dustin Mayer withdrew as Stotts' attorney. On Nov. 16, she appeared with Attorney Rance Butler as counsel. A hearing was continued until Feb. 1.
On Jan. 11, 2018, conditions of Stotts' bond were amended in order to allow for circumstances involving her family.
Her next court appearance is slated for Wednesday, March 21, 2018, at 10 a.m. in Division I.