IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 28, 2016

CONTACT:
Mary Pettitt
Commonwealths Attorney
For Montgomery County
(540) 382-5705

Austin Scott Lilly Involuntary Manslaughter in Montgomery County

CHRISTIANSBURG --Today in the Montgomery County Circuit Court, 26 year old Austin Scott Lilly of
Elliston pled guilty, pursuant to Alford v. North Carolina, and was found guilty of
Involuntary Manslaughter.
A second charge of Aggravated Involuntary
Manslaughter, involving the same victim, was not proceeded against. An Alford
plea acts as a guilty plea but allows Lilly to maintain his innocence.
On March 25, 2015, Dep. Sink of the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office
responded to the railroad crossing on Reese Mountain Road near the intersection of
North Fork Road for a vehicle crash. The Elliston Fire Department and emergency
services were already on the scene. It was between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. At the time
of the crash it was light outside with clear weather.
A silver Chevy Monte Carlo was attempting to cross the rail crossing and was
struck by an oncoming train. The driver was Mr. Lilly. There were three children in
the vehicle:

1 Jaden Leah Lilly - age 7

2 Kyle Raymond Lilly age 5
3 Marlee Dawn Rickman-Lilly age 3
All 3 children were critically injured and flown by helicopter to Roanoke Memorial
Hospital. Three year old Marlee Dawn Rickman-Lilly died at the hospital shortly
after arrival. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner investigated but did not
conduct an autopsy. The cause of death was determined to be severe trauma to the
body and head.
Lilly was transported to Roanoke Memorial Hospital and spoke with Deputy Sink.
He stated he remembered that he was going slowly, had been looking in the
rearview mirror, and the children were talking about going home and asking about
playing on the Wii. Lilly stated he heard the whistle, hit the brakes, looked left and
the train struck the vehicle at that instant from the right side. Lilly denied having
anything to drink and consented to a voluntary blood draw. Deputy Sink noted that

Lilly looked calm and tranquil. Lillys vehicle has a data box. The downloaded data
revealed Lilly was crossing the railroad track at 15 miles per hour at the time it was
struck.
Capt. New of the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office took over the investigation.
The Norfolk Southern Train was equipped with a video camera. Capt. New reviewed
the video with a Norfolk Southern representative. The video showed the trains
movements leading up to the crash. It showed impact at approximately 5:13 p.m.
The train blew its whistle 6 times prior to the impact. The video showed Lillys
vehicle stopped approximately 100 feet back from the crossing. The car is next
seen driving towards the crossing and failing to stop at a stop sign prior to entering
the track.
On April 29, Lilly met and spoke with Capt. New voluntarily. In regards to that
day, Lilly stated he just got off of work and had picked up his children. He had had
just left his parents home, who live just across the train tracks where the crash
occurred. Lilly stated shortly after leaving he stopped the vehicle about 60 yards
from the tracks to pick up an item one of the kids dropped. Lilly stated that he took
his foot off the brake and the vehicle began moving towards the tracks. He
explained he was looking in the rear view mirror talking to his kids as the vehicle
was moving. Lilly again denied drinking or having anything else in his system. Lilly
further stated he travels that road often and it has become habit for him not to stop
at the stop sign.
Lillys blood draw was returned showing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC the active
ingredient in marijuana) in his system, the level being .0059. Dr. Trista Wright
analyzed the blood draw. She would have testified that the effects of THC begin at
a level of .002, and that THC dissipates quickly from the body. Some of the effects
on the body she would expect at that level are euphoria, difficulty performing
divided attention tasks (such as driving), and short term memory impairment.
Lilly was placed under arrest on May 6, 2015.
He was advised of his
constitutional rights and agreed to speak with Capt. New. Lilly again stated he was
not under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash. At that time
Lilly was confronted with the lab report showing the high level of THC in his system.
Lilly then stated that he had smoked marijuana but that it was sometime before
leaving for work the morning of the accident, which was around 6:30 a.m. Lilly then
made a statement that he did not smoke any marijuana after noon on the date of
the accident. Lilly denied smoking any marijuana following the crash.
Judge Turk accepted the plea and found Lilly guilty. There was no plea
agreement in this case. A sentencing hearing will be held on June 27 th at 1:00 p.m.
At that time Lilly faces up to 10 years in prison. Lilly remains out of jail on bond
awaiting sentencing.
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