FM man charged with vehicular homicide

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BY CHUCK VANDENBERG
PCC EDITOR

FORT MADISON - A Fort Madison man has been arrested in connection with the accidental death of a 14-year-old Keokuk boy on April 1.

According to Lee County Attorney Ross Braden, Jeremy Gillette, 18, of Fort Madison, was arrested Friday evening and charged with vehicular homicide as a result of reckless driving.

The charge is a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Braden said the complaint filed in South Lee County court alleges that the boy was riding his bicycle while holding onto an open window on the 2012 Chevy Impala that Gillette was driving.

The boy, who was identified in earlier reports as Brandon Scott Fitzgerald, lost control of his bicycle and struck his head on the pavement on South 7th Street in Keokuk near the intersection of K Street.

He was taken by Lee County EMS to Unity Point Hospital in Keokuk where he died from injuries sustained in the accident.

Braden said 1st Assistant Lee County Attorney Jonathan Stensvaag filed the complaint Friday.

"This is just a terrible situation - we're talking about kids. The driver himself was still a kid," Braden said.

"We didn't take this charge lightly. We had a pretty good idea what happened, but this is one of those things we wanted to approach cautiously. This wasn't a charge we wanted to throw around lightly because of the young people involved in this accident."

No information on bond was available as of this posting.


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