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Cory Burkeen<br>PHOTO:Marshall County Detention Center

Cory Burkeen
PHOTO:Marshall County Detention Center

Burkeen Pleads Not Guilty

By WestKyStar Staff

BENTON, KY - Cory Burkeen entered a plea of not guilty in Marshall District Court on Monday to seven charges related to a May 28 crash on Ky. 95 that resulted in multiple serious injuries.

Judge Jack Telle scheduled a preliminary hearing for 1 p.m. Oct. 17 in Marshall District Court.

24-year-old Burkeen is charged with four counts of wanton endangerment, two counts of first-degree assault and first offense driving under the influence with an aggravator.

Marshall County Sheriff Kevin Byars told the Paducah Sun that toxicology reports showed Burkeen was intoxicated and had prescription drugs in his system when the crash occured. Byars said that Burkeen did not have a prescription for the drugs. Burkeen was arrested on Oct. 3.

Burkeen was driving on Ky. 95 in Calvert City at around 9:30 p.m. May 28 when he crossed the center line and had a head on collision with a vehicle carrying Shane McKenty, Landon Lovett, Lake McGregor and Maggie Adams. Both McKenty and Lovett were severely injured and were in a coma after the wreck. Lovett is still in a long-term care facility in Nashville. McKenty returned home in July, and McGregor and Adams have recovered.

Burkeen is also scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday for a second-degree burglary charge related to a separate incident.

Published 05:50 AM, Tuesday Oct. 09, 2012
Updated 06:58 PM, Tuesday Oct. 09, 2012

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- Name: Independent T.
  
  10/11/2012 7:28:00 AM
  
  Ah, thank you Justice. I see where you are coming from. Tennessee red tape prevented a timely sampleing for alcohol to be taken in a timely manner....and as wee all know....alcohol has a very short half life in da blood stream. The Benzos that were found in his blood sample generally hang around for 30 hours or so, but alcohol moves out of the body pretty danged quickly. Repeat DUI offenders know all this kind of stuff and use it to their advantage in defending themselves from a selfish, selfish society that would prefer they not kill us and our families with their drunk driving.
  
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  Name: Justice for A.
  
  10/10/2012 1:56:00 PM
  
  Here you go. http://www.tribunecourier.com/view/full_story/19034852/article-Blood-sample-time-unclear-after-wreck?instance=left_column
  
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  Name: Independent T.
  
  10/10/2012 12:20:50 PM
  
  Can somebody show me the negative test result for aloohol? Or, even a clear news or police report that shows that?
  
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  Name: Justice for A.
  
  10/10/2012 8:38:10 AM
  
  JW- A ach. test was performed and came back negative. I as stated before am not defending this guy. I am trying to highlight the danger of selective prosecution and the slopy police work at the scene of the accident. Deputys stated that a strong smell of ach. and beer cans littered the scene. After they finally got a blood sample and tested it for ach. it was NEGATIVE. Read the story of how the State Police would have obtained the blood sample and it may enlighten you. If you take the popularity factor and the emotions out you have s**t for evidence. Supposedly a state trooper pulled this guy over for speeding just prior to the accident. If this is true why did the tropper not arrest him for DUI or are you going to say he ate a bunch of Valium after being pulled over by the trooper and became intoxicated and caused the wreck. Come on! I agree if he was he needs to be punished but we can only guess at this point. Don't beleive you should guess to prosecute someone. Everyone needs to direct their anger at the appropriate person or persons who miserably failed in this case.
  
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  Name: J W.
  
  10/10/2012 7:59:29 AM
  
  intoxication n. 1) the condition of being drunk as the result of drinking alcoholic beverages and/or use of narcotics. That is the definition found on intoxication. So as I stated before, it plainly states he WAS intoxicated AND had non-prescribed prescription drugs in his system. The word "and" can only mean that the prescription drugs weren't the only contributor, and may not have even been a contributor to the crash. The few that are defending him in his attempt to evade a dui and other charges should probably read that part again. The story at no point charges him specifically for the prescription drugs that you seem to keep arguing about, it only mentions they were in his system apparently along with other things that lead to intoxication (alcohol or narcotics). Doesn't take a senior investigator to disect those clues.
  
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  Name: Kyle W.
  
  10/10/2012 4:41:31 AM
  
  Kid need a new striped suit and a sledgehammer. Big rocks into little rocks!! OH wait we can't do that to prisoners anymore it isn't fair.
  
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  Name: Justice for A.
  
  10/9/2012 7:18:17 PM
  
  First the alcohol test was negative. Second what level of drugs in your system makes you intoxicated? I need to tell my grandmother because she cant drive anyway and takes medicine. You keep referring to taking drugs without a prescription. Does a prescription make you less intoxicated?
  
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  Name: Bobby M.
  
  10/9/2012 6:54:13 PM
  
  Are intoxicated and drunk exclusive to each other? I thought a person could also be considered intoxicated if they are under the influence of drugs or marijuana.
  
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  Name: Gerald C.
  
  10/9/2012 6:09:31 PM
  
  He was intoxicated, which means he was drunk. He also had taken prescription drugs for which he had no prescription. If he had only been drunk would you question this? I think not. For me this is cut and dried. If he is found guilty he should pay the price. What we do not need is a another total moron combining alcohol with drugs and then driving a car on the road. Defend his actions all you want, but if he is guilty I have no sympathy for him. He made an adult decision and that decision has consequences.
  
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  Name: kevin h.
  
  10/9/2012 4:06:40 PM
  
  Independent...that's just it, he was clean for alcohol and the Valium could have been in his system a week. Yet both open and empty beer bottles littered the scene. Whose were they and why wasn't the other driver tested as well.
  
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  Name: Justice for A.
  
  10/9/2012 2:33:29 PM
  
  Then I would suppose their are legal limits of drugs in your system and illegal amounts of drugs in your system to operate a vehicle? I have never heard of these but could be wrong. I would not have concerns if these limits actually exist in existing law. I think common sense would tell you that if you took a loratab 8 hours prior to driving you are not intoxicated or impaired. It just smells fishy for the prosecution to state he did not have a prescription for these medications. This is irrelevant to his intoxication at the time of the accident. Pay close attention to this case.
  
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  Name: Independent T.
  
  10/9/2012 2:27:09 PM
  
  If the guy was (and he was) mixing Alcohol and Valium then getting out on the road he was showing complete contempt for the lives of others on the road. And in this case it seems his drinking and drugging resulted in life changing injuries for the people he crashed into. He made his choice, now a judge and jury can make their choice. I hope they send a message that sorely needs to be heard.
  
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  Name: J W.
  
  10/9/2012 2:20:25 PM
  
  Justice, I agree 100% with your reasoning that you could have trace amounts of a drug in your system weeks to a month after ingestion and not be "impaired" and that those cases really have no merit in terms of legality. BUT, the story doesn't necessarily say he was charged specifically due to the presciption drugs in his system. The story says "Burkeen was intoxicated AND had prescription drugs in his system when the crash occured." The word intoxicated, rather than impaired, generally refers to alcohol leading me to believe that prescription drugs weren't the only things (or possibly not even the main thing) playing a part in their decision to charge him. If he was intoxicated or impaired, as the original reports of the wreck stated if I remember correctly, in any way then he should be charged. If he simply had trace amounts leading back to a prior use well in advance (by this i mean weeks), as some have suggested, then their should be no charge as that should no longer effect the ability to drive.
  
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  Name: Bobby M.
  
  10/9/2012 2:02:15 PM
  
  Nick, I agree with some of the posters on here that there are too many laws but it is not the fault of the police.
  
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  Name: Justice for A.
  
  10/9/2012 1:58:42 PM
  
  I do not beleive anyone is suggesting that driving while impaired is okay. I think everyone agrees that a person should be punished if doing so and espiecially if you injure someone else whild doing so. The question is if traces of a drug found in your system makes you impaired and not safe to drive. If your beleif is that anyone found with legal or illegal drugs in their blood is DUI then we need more prisons. I can personally think of at least a dozen people I know that take medication with a prescription that would have these medications in their blood and by these standards would be DUI even if not under the effects of the drug. How else can you prevent selective prosecution with the guidlines being applied in this case.
  
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  Name: nick s.
  
  10/9/2012 1:29:42 PM
  
  So Chris, are you calling me a badge licker because I am a advocate for someone being punished for driving around under the influence of drugs or alcohol? If so then I am the badge lickeness fool in town! I would say its pretty obvious that you shouldnt be driving while intoxicated but you non badge lickers must be oblivious to it. I do not do illegal drugs nor do I take prescription drugs for which I do not have a prescription for. Call me crazy but I feel pretty comfortable about not facing any criminal charges if I happen to cause an accident that injures or kills someone. And if you are committing three felonies a day you might want to start changing up your daily routine a little bit. But thats just a badge licker being a unable to think for myself.
  
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  Name: Bobby M.
  
  10/9/2012 1:23:24 PM
  
  Are some of you actually suggesting that it is okay to drive while impaird by drugs, legal or otherwise?
  
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  Name: Chris M.
  
  10/9/2012 12:53:36 PM
  
  Justice, you will never make the sheep and badge lickers around here understand that they are just at risk from the policies they advocate as anyone else. We have so many laws that the average person commits 3 felonies a day. The sheep want to build more prisons, give the government thugs even more power and waste even more tax money. Most of them are unable to think for themselves, so then need a "daddy" in a government office to do it for them.
  
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  Name: Justice for A.
  
  10/9/2012 12:27:28 PM
  
  Exactly my point. They say he was intoxicated. So what is the law regarding the limit of valium in your blood that deems you intoxicated? We do have a limit on Achohol which I beleive is .08. What is Loratabs, Valiums or any other drug that might be found in a persons system? 0.00? That is the question here. Presription or no prescription if valiums make you intoxicated for as long as they stay in your blood system there are many many DUI's driving around right now! Build more prisons!
  
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  Name: nick s.
  
  10/9/2012 10:42:39 AM
  
  Well justice you must not be paying attention either because it says in this article that toxicology reports show he was INTOXICATED at the time of the accident. How much more clear does it have to be to you? If you want to experiment with street drugs or prescription drugs of which are not prescribed to you then you better get ready to suffer the consequences when you screw up and hurt or kill some innocent people. And how do you know when or how much of the drugs this kid had taken? Are you his buddy and was hanging out with him at the time?
  
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  Name: Independent T.
  
  10/9/2012 10:39:34 AM
  
  Actually Justice, the dude had drugs in his system for which he had no prescription. If a guy wants to sit around drinking and eating Valium, then I am 100% in favor of taking his driver's license for life....or until which time he gets clean and stays clean for a long, long, long, period of time. But then, I asked that the excuse makers show up, so for that I am grateful. Thank you.
  
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  Name: Justice for A.
  
  10/9/2012 10:06:59 AM
  
  Tyler you are obviously to young or just a person that doesnt pay attention. I am in no way defending this guy. If he was impaired at the time of the accident he should severly be punished, but it is my opinion that we will never know that for a fact. We do know for a fact that he was not drunk as reported by some. If our justice system agrees with you half of the drivers on the road can be guilty of a DUI at anytime because of trace amounts of various over the counter, prescription or street drugs. Does that mean that half the drivers are impaired? I dont think so.
  
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  Name: Tyler D.
  
  10/9/2012 9:45:41 AM
  
  Drug abusers defending drug abusers... wouldn't expect anything less...
  
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  Name: Bobby M.
  
  10/9/2012 9:25:50 AM
  
  Addiction to prescription pills is a cruel punishment, often affecting people that have done nothing wrong except follow doctor's orders. I have less sympathy for a crackhead because they knew it was illegal and dangerous the first time. Many people that are addicted to prescription pills, I would guess even most, became addicted while following the directions of their doctor. They are not any less responsible for their crimes but they invoke some sympathy from me. I pray it never happens to you, or me.
  
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  Name: Justice for A.
  
  10/9/2012 9:22:52 AM
  
  Need to think about this Independent. If this guy is prosecuted and convicted on traces of valium and some other drug in his blood wouldnt that open a avenue for the law enforcement to prosecute anyone involved in a traffic accident that has traces of drugs in their system and not under the influence of the drug at all. Lets face it you are not high after two weeks after taking any drug but the drug injested will show positive on a blood test. I hope everyone sees the danger in allowing this malicious prosecution. Guidelines need to be set for drug bloodtest levels to be considered impaired. If not everyone that has had a precscription that has ran out recently is at risk of prosecution because of a accident. This was recently done in the school bus wreck. Noone tesitified that the lady looked or acted inmpaired but was sucessfully prosecuted because of drug test. Dangerous road we are going down.
  
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  Name: Tyler D.
  
  10/9/2012 8:35:06 AM
  
  Yeah, I'm just waiting for the first "Oh, poor guy just made a little mistake" comment...
  
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  Name: Independent T.
  
  10/9/2012 8:20:44 AM
  
  OK, let's hear from all the excuse makers for this burlarizing, pill eating, drunk driver.....who is worried a hell of a lot more about his own situation than those he has caused to have life changing injuries. Come on, let's hear from you all again.
  
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