By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
TAYLOR – A preliminary examination of evidence against a driver charged with the death of a teenage mini-bike rider is expected to continue next week.
Hearings on charges faced by Justin Robert Saum, 35, began last month after the Taylor man was charged with the February crash that took the life of 17-year-old Kennedy High School student Austin McCumber.
Evidence in the case is scheduled to be heard May 17 before 23rd District Court Judge Geno Salomone. Saum stands charged with several felonies including leaving the scene of an accident causing death, a felony punishable by up to 22 years in prison.
Although Police Chief Mary Sclabassi said Saum had not been at fault for the collision, further investigation revealed that he had been driving on a suspended license. Investigators said McCumber ran through a stop sign near the intersection of Joan and Harold streets on Feb. 28, and was then struck by a vehicle Saum was driving.
A passenger on the mini-bike, 17-year-old Truman High School student Marin Jaime, was treated for minor injuries at a nearby hospital. McCumber died from his injuries a week after the crash.
(James Mitchell can be reached at [email protected])