photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Anthony Michael Royal is pictured during a preliminary hearing in Douglas County District Court on March 6, 2023. Royal is charged with second-degree murder and felony DUI in connection with a fatal car crash.

A Lawrence man was ordered on Monday in Douglas County District Court to stand trial for second-degree murder and felony DUI after witnesses testified that he was speeding and passing cars on the shoulder before running a stop sign and crashing into another vehicle.

The man, Anthony Michael Royal, 55, is charged with one felony count of second-degree murder by acting unintentionally but recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, according to charging documents. Involuntary manslaughter is charged as an alternative to the murder charge.

Royal is also charged with one misdemeanor count of tampering with an ignition interlock device, which he was required to have but did not have installed in his vehicle; one misdemeanor count of failure to stop at a stop sign; and, after his preliminary hearing on Monday, the state added a felony DUI charge for his third or greater DUI offense. The interlock device is meant to prevent people from driving if they have consumed alcohol.

John Thomas Kirby, 70, of Lawrence, died as a result of the crash on April 8, 2022. As the Journal-World previously reported, the crash occurred at 6:43 p.m. when Royal allegedly attempted to exit Kansas Highway 10 at the Bob Billings Parkway ramp in a 2017 Dodge Ram and failed to stop at the stop sign.

Royal’s vehicle collided with a 2017 BMW driven by Kirby. Royal was taken to Stormont Vail Health in Topeka for treatment of suspected serious injuries, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

During Monday’s hearing, multiple witnesses described Royal’s truck engulfed in flames as Royal crawled from an embankment near the roadway.

One witness arrived on the scene after the crash and helped Royal out of the ditch. She said one of his feet was stuck pointing sideways. Royal, sitting near the road, asked the woman how the other driver was to which the woman told him she didn’t know.

She said Royal then yelled: “I’m f–d,” as he began pulling grass out of the ground, “I’m f–d, I’ve been drinking. I didn’t stop.”

Another woman testified that she was driving westbound on K-10 near the exit when she was passed by a motorcyclist who was weaving in and out of traffic. She said the motorcycle driver was wearing all black except for the helmet, which was furry with bunny ears. Shortly after the motorcycle passed her, Royal also sped by her in his truck. She said it appeared to her that Royal was chasing the motorcyclist.

She said she saw Royal then take the off-ramp, run the stop sign and collide with an SUV as she continued on K-10. She said she never saw Royal’s brake lights. She said she took the next exit and called 911 to report the crash. She said she saw the motorcycle exit at 23rd Street.

A third witness testified that she was the passenger in a vehicle directly behind Royal when the crash occurred. She said that she and her friend were on the off-ramp when Royal’s truck sped past them on the shoulder of the off-ramp. She said prior to taking the exit ramp she also saw a motorcyclist with bunny ears and thought that when Royal passed her that Royal and the motorcyclist were racing.

“We were going five over and he (Royal) was going way faster than us,” the woman testified.

She testified that she saw the crash and that she and her friend pulled over to help. She said they walked to where Royal’s truck was on fire down the ramp and saw Royal climbing out of the ditch. She said Royal was asking about a book bag and looked like he had a broken leg. Royal was using a walker Monday during his hearing.

The final witness to testify was Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Cole McGee, who said he arrived on scene about five minutes after the call was dispatched. McGee said he spoke to Royal as he was being loaded onto a stretcher while Royal’s truck was still burning in the distance. He said Royal had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol. McGee said Royal told him that he had missed his exit and ran the stop sign.

Royal also told McGee that he had three vodka tonics at Crimson and Brews, 925 Iowa St., prior to the crash, McGee said. Royal was taken to Stormont Vail, where McGee had two blood draws taken from him. The first blood draw showed that 1.5 hours after the crash, around 8 p.m., Royal had a blood alcohol level of .11, McGee said, and the second blood draw taken from Royal around 10:40 p.m. showed that he had a blood alcohol level of .05.

McGee said he took two draws because the KBI would be able to extrapolate Royal’s blood alcohol level at the time of the crash. The KBI has yet to run that analysis.

McGee later went to Crimson and Brews and requested a copy of Royal’s receipt from that day. McGee said Royal’s receipt from the bar was for four double vodka drinks.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Anthony Michael Royal is pictured during a preliminary hearing in Douglas County District Court on March 6, 2023. Royal is charged with second-degree murder and felony DUI in connection with a fatal car crash.

Royal’s defense attorney, Dakota Loomis, asked McGee if he knew how long Royal was at the bar, to which McGee said he could not verify how long Royal was there.

McGee testified that during his second interview with Royal, Royal claimed that prior to the crash, his brakes were “squishy” and that he had a warning light on his dash for his brakes. McGee said he could not verify Royal’s story because Royal’s truck was too damaged by the fire to recover any computer data.

McGee said that when he was on the scene of the crash, medics said that Kirby was breathing but they could not find a pulse. Medics then took Kirby to LMH Health, where he was pronounced dead.

McGee downloaded information from Kirby’s SUV. He said the airbag contained a data module that records the vehicle’s driving condition for the five seconds prior to deployment. McGee said that the data showed Kirby was going 6-7 mph over the speed limit, was letting off the gas and did not brake or swerve prior to the accident.

“Which tells me he didn’t see it coming,” McGee said.

At the end of testimony Monday, Chief District Attorney Jennifer Tatum added the additional felony DUI charge, which Judge Amy Hanley accepted. Hanley ordered Royal to stand trial and scheduled an arraignment for March 30.

Royal is currently being held at the Douglas County Jail on a $75,000 cash or surety bond. He has been in custody since his arrest on Oct. 17, 2022.

According to Kirby’s obituary, he was born in 1951 in Kansas City, Missouri, and was the owner of John Kirby Insurance Company, representing American National for over 30 years. He is survived by his wife, five children and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His family suggested that memorial contributions be made in his name to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.