Belleville man charged with involuntary manslaughter for deadly crash in Missouri

Months after a fatal crash, a Belleville man was charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter.

John Sullivan, 42, was charged in Missouri on Monday. The February crash killed Paul Sylvia, 59, of St. Charles, Missouri.

Sullivan was speeding at nearly twice the posted speed limit, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The paper reported that Sullivan was driving his Nissan Altima north on Harry S. Truman Boulevard at 5:30 a.m. on Feb. 22; he was going 77 mph in a 40 mph zone before he collided with Sylvia’s Chevrolet Colorado pickup while Sylvia was making a left turn.

A half-second before the crash, Sullivan slowed to 61.5 mph, the Post-Dispatch reported. Sylvia wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and was partly ejected from his truck. He died at the scene.

Sullivan was also injured in the crash. He consented to a blood test that showed no illegal drugs or alcohol in his system, and police checked his phone to find no activity over the previous eight hours.

According to the Post-Dispatch, Sullivan has more than a dozen speeding tickets in Missouri and Illinois, charges of driving an uninsured vehicle, careless and imprudent driving, improper lane use, and at least four citations since 2000 for driving on a suspended license.

A warrant for Sullivan’s arrest was issued Tuesday. Bail is set at $50,000 cash-only. No hearings or trials have been scheduled yet, and a lawyer is not listed for Sullivan.

This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 11:51 AM.