Kirsten Fiscus
Montgomery Advertiser
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ala. — The charge against a Montgomery man has been increased after a grand jury determined the car wreck that killed an on-duty paramedic was more akin to reckless murder than manslaughter.
Dontorrius Jaquez Belser, 29, was initially charged with manslaughter after 54-year-old David Mimm died following a wreck in March 2020.
Mimm, a co-worker and a patient were traveling north on Eastern Boulevard about 1:45 a.m. March 1, 2020 when Belser, driving a 2016 Hyundai Sonata, struck the ambulance while traveling east on Vaughn Road.
According to Belser’s charging documents, he ran a red light at the intersection.
Belser suffered minor injuries, while everyone in the ambulance suffered significant, life-threatening injuries.
All three in the ambulance were taken to the hospital where Mimm ultimately died.
A grand jury last month dismissed the Class B felony manslaughter charge against Belser and instead indicted him on a Class A felony charge of reckless murder, according to court records made public Thursday.
Belser was also initially charged with two counts of second-degree assault, one for Mimm’s co-worker and another for the patient they were transporting. The grand jury also opted to increase those charges to first-degree assault.
Upon being served the grand jury warrants, Belser was booked back into the Montgomery County Detention Facility for a short time before he was released on an increased bond of $210,000.
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