A Louisville man is facing multiple charges after police say he plowed into a parked pickup truck on Bardstown Road, coming within inches of killing three people who were standing at its tailgate, then drove off without checking on anyone. Jonathan Fisher, 39, was arrested Wednesday in connection with the crash and is now held on a $10,000 bond.
According to an arrest citation cited by WHAS11, Louisville Metro Police officers witnessed the hit-and-run themselves around 12:45 p.m. Wednesday in the 1500 block of Bardstown Road. Investigators believe Fisher was driving north on Bardstown Road when he left the travel lane and rear-ended a pickup truck that was parked, legally, in a marked parking lane.
Three people were getting out of that pickup at the moment of impact, and the collision caused significant damage. Police said the crash happened within inches of the trio as they stood at the truck's tailgate holding cargo, and LMPD officials said Fisher was mere inches from causing all three serious or fatal injuries.
Driver Fled, Then Got Caught by Traffic Cameras
Rather than stopping, Fisher fled the scene without checking on the people he nearly hit, the citation states. A witnessing officer managed to catch a partial license plate and a description of the vehicle, which investigators say was enough to set a citywide search in motion.
LMPD's Real Time Crime Center used camera footage to track down a silver Toyota sedan traveling north on Eastern Parkway, according to the same report. Footage reportedly showed a man driving that sedan with damage visible on its passenger side, and plate information pulled by the crime center pointed investigators to an address on South Birchwood Avenue.
Officers then spotted the vehicle turning from Frankfort Avenue onto South Birchwood Avenue and conducted a traffic stop. Fisher got out of the sedan during that stop, and officers reported smelling a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, the citation says. He failed several field sobriety tests and could not produce his driver's license or insurance card when asked, per the same account.
Charges and What Comes Next
LMPD officials said Fisher showed extreme indifference to the safety of other drivers and pedestrians. He now faces charges of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, leaving the scene of an accident and failing to render aid, three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, and failure to produce an insurance card, the station reports.
Fisher is being held at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections on a $10,000 bond and is expected in court for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 13. It remains unclear whether he has retained an attorney.
A Stretch of Road With a Troubled History
Bardstown Road has seen other violent crashes in recent memory. In a separate hit-and-run on the same road, WLKY reported that 22-year-old Bryson Barber was arrested and faced multiple charges, including murder, after a woman later identified as 22-year-old Montazja Langley was struck and killed while crossing near Grinstead Drive. That driver reportedly stopped, got out of the vehicle and ran away on foot, the outlet noted.```
In yet another incident on the corridor, WLKY reported that a crash at Bardstown Road and Schlatter Road left one person dead and another injured, with LMPD's Traffic Unit investigating; police did not specify which driver had been killed. People who live and work near those intersections have described dangerous driving as an ongoing concern, with one resident telling the outlet that people race on the street and that driving there is generally unsafe and reckless, especially at certain intersections, as reported by WLKY.
