Press staff reports
A Muskogee man charged with negligent homicide in Cherokee County after a fatal crash will appear in court next month.
William Nichols, 78, was charged last week with the misdemeanor offense. He pleaded not guilty at an arraignment earlier this week and was placed on Special District Judge Holli Wells’ March 25 misdemeanor and traffic docket.
The charge stems from a Nov. 7, 2009, crash that killed Robert E. Catcher, 48. Catcher suffered head trauma, trunk external, arm and leg injuries, and Cherokee Nation emergency medical services personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers allege Nichols failed to yield from a private drive, and his 1991 Ford Ranger pickup hit Catcher’s 2005 Yamaha motorcycle. Catcher was thrown nearly 150 feet from the point of impact.
