GUTHRIE, Okla. (KFOR) – The man accused of hitting and killing a Guthrie mother with his pickup and getting a DUI months later, was back in court Thursday afternoon.
The judge decided to give Zachary Simmons another chance, and is allowed to wait at home for his trial.
The 28-year-old is still out on bond since police say he hit and killed Mandy Gorsuch back in October with his pickup in downtown Guthrie.
“My hopes of seeing justice served in this county is very, very low,” Mandy Gorsuch’s uncle Daniel Hopson said. “So far, Zach Simmons has showed he is above the law!”
Police say Simmons and Gorsuch had gotten into an argument.
That’s when Simmons allegedly “flashed his badge,” “gunned his pickup” and “ran Gorsuch over” before he sped off.
A week later, when he turned himself in, he was charged with “leaving the scene of a fatality accident”.
“Does that mean if you are out drinking, you should flee the scene?” Hopson said. “I don’t think so, but the facts are saying that!”
In that case, Simmons had to pay $50,000 and agree to stop drinking, according to his bond.
“I have zero room to f*** up right now,” Simmons said on a Payne County Sheriff’s body cam.
But only a few months later, Simmons was picked up in Payne County and accused of chucking a case of beer out his window while driving on a dirt road.
Simmons was arrested and charged with DUI and resisting arrest. Deputies also found an open knife in his pocket.
Simmons still didn’t spend a night in jail. The only change to his bond was he now isn’t allowed to drive.
“They are giving him a second chance,” Hopson said.
Thursday, Simmons was dropped off to face a judge.
His attorney Scott Adams spoke for him.
“It’s not the end of the world,” defense attorney Scott Adams said. “We are dealing with it and he will be just fine.”
“I have a tendency to believe he is right,” Hopson said. “It’s not what you do. It’s who you know that will get you out of it.”
Due to COVID-19, all court dates were pushed back.
Simmons’ preliminary hearing is set for August 20.
