Wilcox trial begins in Georgetown

The trial for a Millsboro man who faces charges related to his role in a crash that killed three people, including a 9-year-old girl, on Christmas Eve 2022 got underway Oct. 28 at Delaware Superior Court in Georgetown.

Jason Wilcox, 48, faces three counts of manslaughter, four counts of first-degree assault, one count of speeding, one count of leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death and one count of failure to report a collision resulting in injury or death. Wilcox has pleaded not guilty to the charges, rejecting the state’s final plea offer and electing to go to trial.

In opening statements Oct. 28, Deputy Attorney General Angelica Endres said Wilcox was driving that night in a black 2016 Range Rover he had stolen from a residence on Kings Highway in Lewes, going 29 mph over the posted 50 mph speed limit. Endres said Wilcox continued accelerating and did not brake when he saw a 2008 Honda Odyssey pull into the roadway from Minos Conaway Road onto Route 9. At the time of the crash, there was no stop light at that intersection. After the collision, Endres said, Wilcox walked away on foot from the scene.

Wilcox’s defense attorney, Michael Abram, said in his opening statement that the accident was caused when the driver of the Odyssey, Jason Wright, pulled out too far onto Route 9. He said while the crash was an absolutely horrific occurrence, his client was not at fault. 

Starting Oct. 29, the prosecution, Endres and co-counsel Barzilai Axelrod, put together a fairly linear timeline of events. Their two main witnesses were two of the four survivors of the crash, Wright and Debra Huss.

Huss said the night of the crash, she and her family were out looking at Christmas lights around Lewes. Wright was behind the wheel, while she was in the passenger’s seat serving as navigator. Her husband, Gerald, and her daughter’s child from her previous marriage, Christian Guida, were in the middle seats. In the back seat were Huss’s grandson, Cole Wright; Huss’s daughter, Jessica Guida and granddaughter, Jovie Wright.

Huss said Wright stopped the car at the intersection of Route 9 and Minos Conaway Road. Huss said she advised Wright to take a left as he waited for traffic to clear. She said her husband asked her about turning left before Wright made the turn.

As the traffic cleared, Huss said she looked down at her phone and then looked up when she heard Jessica scream from the back seat as a pair of headlights came barreling toward them.

“It felt like a train hit us,” Huss said.

Gerald Huss, 74, and Jovie Wright, 9, were both ejected from the car on impact and died. 

The survivors were taken to Beebe Healthcare to be treated for their injuries. Huss said while she did not suffer serious physical injuries, she and the surviving kids have all suffered from post-traumatic stress.

Wright testified that when he looked both ways at the intersection, he did not see any cars coming toward him. In only a few seconds after pulling into the roadway, Wright said, the Range Rover crashed into them. 

“I would have yielded if I had seen another car,” he said. 

Wright testified that since healing from his injuries, he has suffered from panic attacks, nightmares and other mental health issues.

One of the first Delaware State Police officers on the scene to testify was Cpl. Kathleen Koff, who serves as a patrol officer and K-9 handler. Koff said when she arrived, she saw debris and two bodies in the roadway. She said it was one of the worst collisions she had ever responded to. As police began to investigate the scene, Koff said she saw the Range Rover down the road. She saw no one inside the vehicle, which had its driver-side airbag deployed and the driver-side window down. After checking the area, Koff ran the tag of the Range Rover. Police soon realized the vehicle had been stolen.

The next day, Koff said, she was called out to a Millsboro address belonging to Jason Wilcox, whom police suspected as being the driver of the Range Rover. Koff had brought her K-9, and after several warnings, she released the dog into the house. The dog found no one inside, but police were soon made aware that Wilcox had fled out the back door, Koff said. Wilcox was soon arrested, and Koff said police found the key to the Range Rover at his residence. 

Wilcox previously pleaded guilty in October 2023 to two counts of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and drug possession charges, for which he was sentenced to 12 months’ probation.