Jury recommends 75-year prison sentence for man found guilty of running over Kansas family in 2022 (2025)

Jury recommends 75-year prison sentence for man found guilty of running over Kansas family in 2022 (1)

By Julia Huffman and Alena Noakes

Published: Oct. 14, 2024 at 12:50 PM CDT|Updated: 7 hours ago

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - After a five-day trial, the jury has returned a guilty verdict in the murder case of a Scott County, Indiana man accused of hitting four members of a Kansas family, causing the death of one of them.

Trial Coverage

Michael Hurley, 35, of Lexington, Indiana, was accused of being high on fentanyl on the night of July 5, 2022, when he ran over the Jones family at the intersection of 2nd and Market streets in downtown Louisville. In addition to the murder charge, Hurley was also indicted on three counts of assault.

Trey Jones, 42, of Nickerson, Kansas, was critically injured in the collision. He died from his injuries two days later. Trey’s wife, Amy, and daughter, Ava, were also seriously injured in the crash. Ava, a high school basketball player who was being recruited by several Division 1 schools, suffered a traumatic brain injury. Her younger brother sustained minor injuries.

Hurley was found guilty of all charges. On Tuesday, the jury recommended a total prison sentence of 75 years - 35 for the murder of Trey Jones and 20 years each for the assault of Ava and Amy Jones. They also found Hurley guilty of being a persistent felony offender. The sentence will be served consecutively.

Taking the witness stand Thursday, Ava detailed the extent of her injuries. She said because of the crash, she now struggles with coordination and visual impairment, saying she can’t run or even read now because of double vision.

Currently a student at the University of Iowa, Ava had committed to play college basketball for the Hawkeyes just days before the crash. She said it now takes her 20 seconds to write her name. Ava also talked about the multiple surgeries she has undergone and talked about the effects from brain damage, which includes memory loss, and the impact on her college studies and relationship with friends.

Ava did sign a National Letter of Intent with Iowa but was never medically cleared to play. She recently announced her retirement.

Friday began with emotional testimony from Amy Jones who also described the lifelong impacts the injuries have had on her life. In her testimony, Amy said she was carried 112 feet with the car before falling off when Hurley slammed on the brakes. Amy suffered 22 fractures over her body and has had 18 surgeries over more than two years.

On Monday, the jury heard from multiple witnesses in the sentencing portion of this case, where they took into account the impact of Hurley’s crimes. Hurley’s sentence could be anywhere from 20 years to life in prison just on the murder charge.

Multiple prosecution witnesses took the stand, including Trey Jones’ only sibling, his wife Amy, and his son, Hunter Jones.

Hunter was the only one in the Jones family not injured in the crash because he was not there. He had to fly in from college in Kansas to Louisville and make the difficult decision to take his father off life support.

Now, Hunter is trying his best to step up for his younger brother, who’s now without a father.

”I feel like I have to be there and take the responsibility that my father did have,” he said. “I have to be there and coach him along the way. I don’t know exactly what I’m doing. I’m trying to fit into his shoes, which is pretty hard to do.”

After a week reliving the worst day of their lives, tears of grief and relief were shared by the Jones family Tuesday.

“I feel good about it. Just more for the fact that this won’t happen again to any kids or family. So that’s a big plus,” Hunter said. “It’s going to help people move on, not only us but people in our community and people in this community. And I hope it makes people here feel a little bit safe about being out on these streets and taking your kids out. One less person who could possibly do this.”

“I’m so glad to get this chapter over with and then we can move on to working on Ava and my continued recovery,” Amy said. “I don’t know if we’ll ever have closure because with Ava’s injuries, she may never fully recover. But we can take it step by step and hope for that.”

WAVE News learned that this crime is not the first for Hurley.

Hurley was convicted on felony drug charges in Indiana last year. He received a suspended sentence and is currently on probation. In this case, the prosecution wants to use those Indiana charges as a sentence enhancement, which could weigh into his parole eligibility.

A final sentencing hearing will be scheduled for Friday, Dec. 13, at 10 a.m.