A Metlakatla man was indicted on four felony charges of manslaughter and assault earlier this month, stemming from a car crash that happened more than a year ago.
A Ketchikan Superior Court Judge issued a warrant for 54-year-old John E. Savage’s arrest on April 19. The following day, he appeared by phone before Sitka Magistrate Judge Pamela Stahla-Kernin.
During an initial court appearance, Ketchikan District Attorney Alexander Kramarczuk said Savage was intoxicated when he picked up fellow Metlakatla resident Heather Henderson and her 7-year-old niece in the Southeast Alaska community on April 9, 2023.
“He then sped to the ferry terminal, which is about 15 miles outside of town,” Kramarczuk said. “And somewhere around mile marker 10, he was going quickly enough, driving recklessly enough that his vehicle actually went airborne, ultimately spun several times over (and) wrecked on the ground. He himself, the defendant, was ejected into a bush or a tree.”
Henderson was also thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene. Savage was medevaced to Seattle for treatment. Kramarczuk said the child was able to crawl out of the wreckage and bystanders took her to the clinic in Metlakatla for treatment, but she was eventually medevaced out-of-state as well. The child was able to testify at the hearing, and according to Kramarczuk, appears to have recovered from her injuries.
Savage’s injuries, though, were extensive.
“He is at this point, for all intents and purposes, wheelchair-bound as a result of the incident,” Kramarczuk told the judge.
In a subsequent phone interview, Kramarczuk said that the year-long delay between the incident and Savage being charged was because the defendant was recovering from his injuries out of state.
“The defendant’s conduct, suffice it to say, resulted in the death of at least one person, injury to himself and injury to a child,” he said.
The public defender representing Savage declined to comment.
Savage faces one count of manslaughter and two counts of first-degree assault, each of which carry up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted. He is also charged with third-degree assault and several misdemeanors including DUI, reckless driving, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a minor.
