Accused reckless driver hearing delayed; records show previous accusations of road rage

May 9—TRAVERSE CITY — A Garfield Township man accused of causing a crash that killed a woman and injured her husband on U.S. 31 was accused a month earlier of road rage and displaying a BB gun in a confrontation with other motorists.

A preliminary hearing for Phillip Paul Simerson, 20, set for May 10 on reckless driving charges was adjourned and rescheduled for June 10 before 86th District Judge Robert Cooney. Simerson is accused of driving as fast as 85 mph and rapidly changing lanes in a 45 mph zone just before crashing into an SUV that crossed his path to turn into a business.

The wreck killed Janice Faye Freeman, 73, and left William John Freeman, 78, seriously injured, court records show.

A witness told deputies the SUV the Freemans occupied would have had enough time to safely turn into the business, but Simerson's pickup truck quickly changed lanes and was traveling much faster, according to a probable cause affidavit on file with 86th District Court.

The crash generated the second accusations of reckless driving within eight days levied against Simerson.

Grand Traverse County Sheriff's deputies said Simerson had previously been investigated in a separate reckless driving complaint on April 5, one week before the crash, according to court records.

It's not the only recent complaint against Simerson's behavior on the road.

The Record-Eagle obtained, under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, both law enforcement and court records that show Simerson was accused of road rage and "brandishing" a BB gun during a March 13 incident that started on Keystone Road and ended in his Kings Court neighborhood.

That was four weeks and two days before the fatal crash.

The Grand Traverse County Prosecutor declined to pursue charges in that case, records show.

Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg did not comment about the accusations stemming from the earlier confrontation, but confirmed via email the preliminary hearing on reckless driving charges was adjourned because discovery remains pending and both prosecution and defense attorneys needed additional time to prepare.

Attorney Janet Mistele filed with the court to defend Simerson on the reckless driving charges, but could not be reached for comment.

Law enforcement reports show that in the minutes after 10 a.m. March 13, a mother and daughter told sheriff's deputies Simerson harassed them on the road and they followed him to get a photo of his license plate. They intended to report his bad behavior, they said.

That's when he slammed on his brakes, got out of his vehicle and came toward the women yelling and cursing at them before going to his trunk, taking what appeared to be a black handgun out and "looking at them menacingly," records show.

"The incident that happened that day was very scary," said Tiffany Hensley, who with her mother reported Simerson to investigators.

Hensley told a sheriff's deputy that Simerson was swerving from fog line to center line, back and forth, behind her vehicle as she drove up Keystone Road. After turning onto Hammond Road, Simerson passed Hensley's vehicle on the right before cutting them off to get into the left-turn lane for LaFranier Road, records show.

Investigation reports show deputies went to Simerson's home later that day and the next to interview him, and eventually spoke to him at his workplace, Jet's Pizza on Garfield Avenue, where he worked as a delivery driver. Simerson told a deputy he did not tailgate Hensley's vehicle but did get "frustrated by their slow rate of travel," documents show.

Records show Simerson told the deputy he "flipped off the occupants of the car" when he passed them on Hammond Road, and when the car followed him onto LaFranier Road, he "felt he was being harassed." Simerson also told the investigator he thought one of the people in the car was a man and "he felt threatened," records show.

Simerson told the deputy he removed his BB gun from his trunk and held it at his side during the encounter with Hensley and her mother. The deputy reported it appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun, but confirmed it was a BB pistol and he reported it was seized as evidence, records show.

Records show Chief Assistant Prosecutor Kyle Attwood declined charges because "the conduct of the defendant is insufficient for purposes of a brandishing charge; additionally, the weapon at issue does not qualify as a "firearm" under that section of the criminal code.

"Accordingly, prosecution would not be possible here," according to the complaint disposition form released under FOIA.

Hensley said she was hopeful Simerson would at least be charged with intimidation back then, but that didn't happen.

"It was very upsetting. It was even more upsetting knowing that within a month from that date that he pulled a gun on us, he was involved in two more reckless driving incidents — one taking the life of an innocent woman," she said.

"I truly hope Simerson is held accountable for his actions and that we never come across his path when driving again," Hensley said.

Conditions of Simerson's bond prevent him from legally driving a vehicle.

Simerson, at the time of the fatal crash in April, had been out of jail on bond stemming from two unrelated malicious destruction of property charges, court records show.

Authorities said the woman killed in the April wreck was from Empire, and died at Munson Medical Center the day after the crash. Her husband, the SUV driver, suffered multiple broken ribs and a lacerated kidney, records show.

Simerson also was taken to the Traverse City hospital that day for minor injuries, as previously reported.