ADAIR CO., Ky. (LEX 18) — A Tennessee man was arrested after an Adair County crash over the weekend left a child dead. Police say 46-year-old Joel Hammack was driving when he rear-ended another car, causing the crash.
Hammack was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide under the influence of alcohol, DUI fourth offense or greater, and assault. A passenger with Hammack was also charged with assault.
According to Hammack’s arrest citation, when police arrived on the scene, he refused a sobriety test. Police said there was a strong alcohol odor coming from him, and at least three open Bud Lights in his car. After he was taken to the hospital for a blood alcohol test, police say he continued to be belligerent and irritated.
His bond in the case was set at $1 million cash.
Adair County Public Schools superintendent Jason Faulkner says the child was a second grader at Adair County Primary Center.
“There’s no time that this is going to be, that this is easy, but given the fact that this is the holiday season adds another layer of difficulty to this,” Faulkner said. “I would just plead with our community, give this family a little bit of space. Let them mourn, let them grieve.”
The loss hits deep in the community, and also to the teachers.
“We had about 40 teachers, heartbroken teachers, at Adair County Primary Center yesterday,” said Faulkner. “Students to some of our teachers, they’re like their own children. There’s definitely a grieving process that goes along with that.”
As kids return to class in January, ACPC will have resources available for students.
“There are going to be a lot of children that come back after winter break with a lot of questions,” Faulkner said. “We will have our crisis response team that will be on hand the very first day of school for reentry. We will have extra counselors on site that will provide our students with somebody to talk to.”
With school still out for another week, Faulkner encourages parents to reach out if any help is needed before students return to class.
“I want to let our parents know, if their child has questions, or they feel like their child needs someone to speak with prior to the start of school, reach out to the school district and let us know, and we’d be more than happy to put them with somebody just to provide some counseling services.”
You can visit the Adair County Schools website here.
