Background: A section of the 5600 block of Juniper Beach Road in Prospect, Ky. (Google Maps). Inset: Thomas Kolb (Louisville Metro Police Department).
When a man went outside his Kentucky home to search for his cat, he was struck by an SUV driven by a man he had seen earlier that night, according to authorities and the victim”s wife.
Thomas Kolb, 27, has been charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, first-degree assault, and leaving the scene of an accident involving death or serious physical injury, jail records reviewed by Law&Crime show. He was taken into custody on Friday.
At about 2 a.m. that day, a man went outside his home in the area of the 5600 block of Juniper Beach Road in Prospect, Kentucky, which is located just northeast of Louisville. He was looking for the family cat.
Kolb was allegedly driving a black 2016 Jeep Cherokee at the time and slammed into the man. According to local NBC affiliate WAVE, the Louisville Metro Police Department said the victim’s wife told them that her husband came back inside their house bleeding from his mouth and head.
The couple’s daughter called 911 and reported that her father had been hit by a car. The wife took her husband to an area hospital, where authorities said he had suffered a brain bleed, a broken jaw and cheek, and lost teeth.
The wife provided authorities with additional details.
She reportedly said that she was at a local bar with her husband earlier that night when she saw a man smiling at them. She said she saw that same man — alleged to be Kolb — approach their home after the crash.
“You ran over my husband,” she told him, according to authorities, to which he apparently replied, “Something came out of the dark.”
Investigators said they identified Kolb as their suspect after looking through video footage from a nearby business and other evidence, including receipts for drinks. Officers then reportedly found a black 2016 Jeep Cherokee with front-end damage at a home tied to Kolb’s relative.
The victim’s current status is unclear. Kolb has reportedly been ordered to have no contact with the victim and his family and to not drive until he is cleared to do so.
He was listed as in police custody on a $75,000 bond as of Tuesday.
