Marshall Neely, III, charged by the county with a hit-and-run of a bicyclist earlier in July now faces federal charges and up to 12 years in prison.
Neely was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury and charged with reckless aggravated assault, lying to a federal agent and obstruction of justice, Acting U.S. Attorney Jack Smith of the Middle District of Tennessee announced Friday.
The federal indictment is a result of an incident on July 8 on the Natchez Trace Parkway, where a bicyclist was struck by a vehicle and injured. The driver of the vehicle, later identified as Neely, failed to stop and left the scene of the incident.
“Middle Tennessee is an area where bicycle traffic is abundant and growing daily,” said Smith. “. . . The wanton recklessness exhibited by this defendant could easily have taken the life of the victim in this case. Such indifference to human life cannot be tolerated as it places all our bicycling citizens in grave danger. Whenever such blatant disregard for our citizen’s safety occurs on roadways under federal jurisdiction, you can expect that this U.S. Attorney’s Office will move swiftly to seek the appropriate avenue of justice.”
According to the indictment, on the morning of July 8 two individuals were riding bicycles along the Natchez Trace Parkway in Williamson County, Tennessee, when a black Volvo struck one of the individuals from behind. The impact caused the bicyclist to be thrown from his bicycle and he sustained injuries which required him to be transported by ambulance to the Williamson County Medical Center for treatment. Despite the impact, the driver of the Volvo did not slow down or stop but instead, continued on.
As the indictment alleges, the incident was captured on video by a helmet-mounted camera being used by the other bicyclist. This video was later posted to the internet and used to identify the owner of the vehicle as Neely.
Late in the afternoon the indictment alleges that Neely’s son went to the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department and reported that the vehicle that struck the bicyclist belonged to his father and stated that he recognized the “Dartmouth, “Rice,” and “Boston” stickers on the back windshield, as depicted in the video. When law enforcement officers arrived at Neely’s home that evening, the indictment alleges that the Volvo was parked in the grass behind the garage and the “Dartmouth” and “Rice” stickers had been removed from the back windshield. Officers also noted that residue from a cleaning agent was visible on the right front of the vehicle where it had struck the bicyclist.
The indictment further alleges that shortly after observing the condition of the Volvo, officers found Neely in his home and unconscious on the floor. After being roused by law enforcement officers, Neely told the officers that while he was driving on the Parkway, earlier that morning, a bicyclist threw his bicycle at him. The indictment also alleges that Neely admitted to removing the stickers from his vehicle to prevent him from being identified.
Neely was arrested at his home earlier today by U.S. National Park Service Rangers and will appear before a U.S. Magistrate later today.
If convicted, Neely faces 2-12 years in prison on the reckless aggravated assault charge; up to 5 years in prison for lying to a federal agent; and up to 20 years in prison for obstructing justice.
This case was investigated by the National Park Service and the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Beth Myers.
