Published: July 22, 2008 12:02 am      

Driver charged with murder and assault

Preliminary hearing set for July 30

ASHLAND — The man charged in a suspected alcohol-related crash that killed an Ashland man and seriously injured his grandson Friday appeared in court Monday.

Billy J. Barker, 21, of Ashland, faces wanton murder, first-degree assault and DUI charges all stemming from the wreck that killed Russell “Rusty” Bellomy, 71, of Ashland and seriously injured 11-year-old Kristoffer Callaway.

The accident occurred shortly after 9 p.m. Friday on Blackburn Avenue across from Oakview Elementary. According to Ashland police, Barker’s westbound Ford pickup veered across the center line and collided head-on with Bellomy’s eastbound motorcycle.

Bellomy was pronounced dead at the scene. Callaway, an elementary student at Rose Hill Christian School, suffered head and leg injuries and was flown to Cabell Huntington Hospital where he remains in serious condition.

Barker, who has been in police custody since the wreck, could face life in prison if convicted, according to his attorney Mike Curtis.

Curtis said in court his client would enter a plea of not guilty and asked for a preliminary hearing to be set.

District Judge George W. Davis III set the hearing for 10 a.m. July 30. He ordered Barker’s bond to remain at $1 million.

Boyd County Commonwealth’s Attorney David Justice said a special grand jury will meet Friday to hear the charges against Barker.

Family members of both Barker and Bellomy filled Davis’s courtroom Monday. They all appeared to be reeling from the weekend’s tragedy and at the potentially lengthy legal ordeal ahead of them.

Another of Bellomy’s grandsons, Russell Thirion, 29, said he hopes the experience is “eye opening” for both sides. “Nobody asked for this,” he said.

His grandfather “would be the first one to look toward forgiveness,” he added. “He was an honorable man like that.”

Thirion’s mother, Susan Bellomy Thirion of Clermont, Fla., said there has been an outpouring of grief and support from the community in the days since the accident.

She said her nephew remains unconscious although he responded to his mother’s touch on Monday. “He’s not out of the woods yet,” she said.

CARRIE KIRSCHNER can be reached at ckirschner@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2653.