DEVELOPING: Son charged with Motor Vehicular Homicide in crash that took his mother’s life… allegedly told officers his mom was driving… [HN VIDEO]
BARNSTABLE – As you will see in the following HN Video, HN was on scene the morning of April 13, 2016, at about 1:55 a.m., when officers were investigating a horrific single car crash that had just happened and ended up claiming the life of 51-year-old Deborah A. Coelho, the mother of the man now being charged with Motor Vehicular Homicide (nearly 3 years after the crash)…
… and according to court documents, he initially told officers that his mother had been driving the vehicle.
According to Barnstable Police Patrolman Corbin Fries, the first officer on scene, he reportedly noticed the son/vehicular homicide suspect standing in front of 162 Main Street in Osterville, the location of the crash.
A white Nissan Sentra was completely destroyed. A front yard fence was reduced to smithereens.
Patrolman Fries asked the male (later identified as the suspect, Jon Wetherbee) if there was anyone in the vehicle and he reportedly said his mother had been with him.
The patrolman’s report continues, “I asked if he was the operator of the vehicle and he advised me that his mother was driving. I asked where she was located and he said she was over by the vehicle and that he did not know what to do. I made a few observations while speaking with WETHERBEE. WETHERBEE had a strong odor of alcohol and his eyes were bloodshot and glassy. His speech was slurred and thick as he spoke to me. He was unsteady on his feet and was not wearing any shoes. I looked over near the wreckage where he was pointing and I could see two legs coming from underneath the rear of the vehicle. WETHERBEE was up and walking around upon my arrival with cuts around his face and hands.”
Patrolman Fries reportedly approached and observed the suspect’s mother to be unconscious and not breathing. The mother was missing clothing and appeared to have been ejected from the vehicle. The victim did not have a pulse.
Officers pulled the victim out from underneath the vehicle and began CPR. COMM FD quickly arrived on scene and transported the victim to CCH where she was later pronounced dead.
Meanwhicle, Wetherbee was placed onto a stretcher and placed into an ambulance.
Patrolmann Fries’s report continues, “As soon as I entered the ambulance a strong odor of alcohol was coming from inside the entire cabin. WETHERBEE said that he and his mother had been drinking and that she should not have been driving. WETHERBEE said that they were at Joshua’s Pond in Osterville to look at the stars. They started heading towards Centerville on Main Street in Osterville. WETHERBEE said that he was the passenger and that [his mother] was driving. WETHERBEE told me that they started to argue and then they somehow went off the roadway and crashed. […] The vehicle then appeared to hit a tree before coming to rest on the property of 162 Main Street. I asked WETHERBEE if he was ejected from the vehicle and he said no. I asked WETHERBEE if the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed and he was unsure. I asked WETHERBEE if the vehicle had flipped over at any point and he was also unsure with that question. WETHERBEE continued to talk with a slurred and thick speech as he spoke to me. Med Flight arrived after about two minutes after speaking with WETHERBEE. He was transported to Rhode Island Trauma Center for further evaluation.”
Patrolman Fries’s report continues, [A witness] said that she heard the crash and went out to the street through the side yard to see what was happening. [The witness] came out to the street just a little west of the crash. […] [The witness] then said she could hear moaning coming from her driveway area across the street from the crash and she noticed WETHERBEE. She pointed to her driveway and pointed out the location where she first saw Wetherbee. This was the same location that one of his boots was found upon officer arrival at the crash. [The witness] said that WETHERBEE may have been taking off one of his shoes or it was already off. (Note: the other shoe was located under the steering wheel of the vehicle). [The witness] said that she told WETHERBEE she was going to call 911. [The witness] called 911 and then asked WETHERBEE if he was driving. [The witness] said that WETHERBEE told her, ‘No, my mom was driving and she should not have been.’”
According to the Barnstable Police accident reconstruction expert’s report, Wetherbee “needed to be transported to a trauma center due to the fact that the other occupant in the car suffered severe trauma and Wetherbee may have severe internal trauma.”
The accident reconstruction report continues, “Upon impact with the tree Coelho was ejected from the Nissan Sentra. Whetherbee climbed out of the Nissan Sentra. […] On the right front passenger door a woman’s style brown and black jacket was hanging out of the window. Blood was observed on the jacket, it appeared to be inside out and one of the sleeves was partially pulled inside out. Part of the jacket was stuck in the bottom of the door on the inside of the car. The jacket could not be removed from the Sentra due to being stuck in the bottom of the door. The right front window was down inside the door or smashed out at impact. […] The steering wheel was bent and the ignition key was broken off in the ignition. […] Seatbelts locked in the resting positions indicates that the seatbelts were not utilized by the occupants prior to the crash. […] The roof and left A pillar were pushed down into the driver’s side compartment area. An untied brown work boot could be observed underneath the crushed down dashboard and steering column on the driver’s floorboard. The boot was photographed in its position under the dashboard. The boot could not be removed from the vehicle because of the dashboard crushed around it. A brown Coach purse was located on the front right passenger floorboard in the Nissan Sentra. Inside the purse was a Massachusetts ID and a Florida ID with the name and picture of Deborah Coelho with a DOB of 3/02/1965. The brown Coach purse was secured for evidence. A smartphone with a purple case was located on the right front passenger seat. This phone was secured for evidence.”
The accident reconstruction report continues, “A boot was observed in the driveway on 199 Main St. 199 Main St is across the street from 162 Main St. The work boot was a right Elk Woods Denali size 9 ½ D. The shoelaces were untied. This boot was photographed and secured for evidence. The boot in the driveway appeared to be the matching boot that was observed in the driver’s side floorboard area.”
Based on a lengthy investigation (check back as HN releases additional details), Jon A. Wetherbee, age 30, of Centerville was summonsed and arraigned on Friday, February 15, 2019, on the felony charge of Motor Vehicle Homicide OUI-LIQUOR. Cash bail was set at $5000 and the defendant was ordered to remain alcohol free.
Check back for additional details from the accident reconstruction report.
The following HN Video was taken shortly after the deadly crash on April 13, 2016…
[PRESS PLAY]
*All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law
