February preliminary hearing set for Air Force member accused of killing man in car crash on U.S. Highway 59

A Douglas County judge on Monday scheduled a February preliminary hearing for a 23-year-old Air Force service member who’s accused of driving under the influence last week and killing a Nebraska man north of Lawrence.

Zachary Harrison, a Hutchinson man who is stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base as an airman first class, faces nine charges, including involuntary manslaughter, for the death of 21-year-old Cameron Freeman on Nov. 23 on U.S. Highway 24-59 just north of Lawrence.

Defense attorney Jason Billam told Judge Sally Pokorny Monday in court that law enforcement officers were still completing reports and that the Kansas Bureau of Investigation would need to test samples taken as part of the investigation before the preliminary hearing .

Harrison is accused of stealing the truck of a newspaper carrier on the Kansas University campus and eventually rear-ending the car Freeman was riding in. The crash also injured three of Freeman’s friends, who were headed home at 3 a.m. to Lincoln, Neb., after attending a concert in Lawrence.

Family members said Harrison was in Lawrence visiting his brother that night. Pokorny scheduled a Feb. 11 preliminary hearing in the case.

Harrison remains in Douglas County Jail on $175,000 bond.