Collier County judge clears man in crash that killed wife

NAPLES, Fla.- A 76-year-old man was found to not be at fault in a crash that killed his wife in 2015.

Carolyn Nelson, 75, died in the crash along Airport-Pulling Road on Nov. 4. Her husband, Kenneth Nelson, was driving when Florida Highway Patrol officials say he caused the wreck by turning into the path of a Jeep.

Troopers cited Nelson after hearing from witnesses. The citation meant Nelson was in jeopardy of losing his drivers license and he also faced fines for the crash that killed his wife.

But new evidence played in court led to a judge clearing Kenneth Nelson of any charges.

The person who called 911 at the scene of the crash claimed the Jeep involved “hit the passenger side the lady was on,” referring to Carolyn Nelson.

“We’ll pull these 911 calls because you can go back then and trace back the original witnesses. Often times they have relevant evidence and in this case, it turned out to be the smoking gun that proved Mr. Nelson’s innocence,” said Donald Day, Kenneth Nelson’s attorney. “It’s just unusual to have a witness surface that way, kind of in the hidden documents somewhere that none of the investigators had found.”

FHP says they’re still investigating the crash and the 911 call merely contradicted two witnesses on scene, but Day disagress.

“They had theories they thought might have occurred but the one witness who was quite clear and traveling directly behind the Jeep in question, actually saw the lights, saw the Jeep traveling an excessive rate of speed prior to the accident, and saw the Jeep run through a red light,” Day said.

Day adds it’s unlikely his client will face any other citations for the crash.