Man found guilty in crash

PANAMA CITY -- A Bay County jury convicted Jessie James Phillips on Friday of leaving the scene of a crash with injury, the State Attorney’s Office said.

Assistant State Attorney Devin Collier told jurors in his opening statement that Phillips, 31, 18104 Park Place in Fountain, walked away from a crash on U.S. 231 the night of June 12 while passenger Amanda Lee Odom lay in the median with life-threatening injuries. The couple was driving to Fountain after an evening of drinking and dancing when their 2000 Ford Taurus struck a concrete barrier in the median near South Bear Creek Road. The car flipped and Odom, 31, was ejected. She suffered multiple broken bones.

A state trooper was southbound on 231 and came upon the crash within seconds. He found Phillips behind the wheel of the car and Odom calling for help from the median. While he was attending her, Phillips got out of the car and walked away. He was arrested a few days later.

Jurors found him guilty as charged of leaving the scene of a crash with injuries and driving with a revoked driver’s license. He faces up to five years in prison on both counts when Circuit Judge James Fensom sentences him July 14.