LENEXA, KS (KCTV) -
A 26-year-old Olathe man made his first appearance Monday afternoon after he was charged with hitting and killing a father of six along Interstate 35 early Saturday morning.
Brock James pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance. He is accused of failing to stop at the scene of a fatal accident and was arrested by the Kansas Highway Patrol Sunday night.
James' attorney sought to have his client's bond reduced from $100,000 to $50,000. The prosecutor objected, saying two warrants for his arrest were outstanding when the crash occurred.
But the judge lowered the bond, upsetting family and friends of Christopher P. Randolph. The 41-year-old man was struck and killed while putting gas into his vehicle, which had stalled on the side of the highway.
The images of her boyfriend's death haunt Charlsetta Redd. It started with such a little thing, the car running out of gas on I-35 just north of College Boulevard in a construction zone.
"My babe got out the car to put some gas in there with a little gas can. I stuck my head out the window, and I was like, 'Babe, be careful.' As soon as I said that, a car just came and knocked him over," Redd said.
Redd said she climbed under their minivan, trying to reach him and pull him back, but wound up pinned there.
"My legs just wouldn't move. Something was holding me, and I guess I was burning my legs from the exhaust up under the car. The cars were just coming, they were hitting him, they were hitting the car, and they wouldn't stop."
She says the last car dragged her boyfriend down the road, none of them stopping.
"It could be your mother. It could be your brother. It could be your boo. It could be anybody's kin to you. You don't just leave a person like that," she said.
Randolph leaves behind six siblings and six children of his own.
"He loved family. He loved his kids. When you would see him, he had the most beautiful smile," Randolph's sister, Lesa Richards, said. "I know it is hard. It is hard for all of us."
Randolph was separated from his wife, but they raised their children together, and now she has had to explain to them what happened.
"When I told them, it was like somebody had ripped their hearts out," said Glenda Randolph.
Everyone who loved Christopher Randolph, including his sister, Lynda Tolston, wants closure, asking for justice.
"Don't let this go, like you hit a deer, and you just went on. He was a live person," she said.
The family is glad an arrest was made but upset over the bond reduction. Redd said she remains in physical pain but her emotional pain is much more devastating.
If anyone has any information, they are urged to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.
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