Driver guilty in crash that killed Wichita restaurant worker who loved sports, books
A Wichita man is facing the possibility of prison time after pleading guilty Tuesday to leaving the scene of a traffic crash that killed a pedestrian who was walking away from a taco restaurant in south Wichita in January.
James P. Dolton, 52, of Wichita, was fatally struck by a Honda Acura RSX around 9:40 p.m. on Jan. 8 as he was crossing Seneca after leaving the Taco Bell at 2432 S. Seneca, Wichita police have said. He died the next day at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis Hospital from blunt force injuries that included skull fractures, bleeding, rib fractures and bruised and lacerated internal organs, according to a probable cause affidavit released in the case.
The affidavit says the driver of the Acura, later identified as 36-year-old Cody C. Cox, did not stop or offer any sort of help to Dolton after hitting him. Cox had just left a nearby Walmart Neighborhood Market store after loading $100 on a card, the affidavit says. The Acura turned onto Pawnee and drove off afterward.
Police later traced the car to Cox and found it at his house, with front-end damage and a broken windshield. Cox told police he had been working on the brakes of the vehicle, which belongs to his mother, but declined an interview about the collision.
Authorities later listened to a phone call between Cox and his mother after he was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail. In the call, Cox said he “wasn’t trying to hurt nobody” and complained that he was “in here with a bunch of killers,” the affidavit says.
Dolton’s obituary describes him as a food industry employee who worked in several restaurants around Wichita, an avid reader and lifelong learner who loved trivia, obscure facts, sports and the Cleveland Browns. A Wichita native, he was “a father, son nephew, cousin and friend to many,” the obituary says.
Prosecutors alleged in a factual basis for Cox’s plea read aloud in court Tuesday that Cox knew or should have known the crash resulted in death or injury but failed to immediately stop and render aid or provide his identity to law enforcement. Cox told Sedgwick County Judge Quentin Pittman that he understood what he was admitting to and the possible penalty.
Cox is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 3, although that hearing will likely be postponed. He faces 31 to 136 months, depending on his prior criminal history.
This story was originally published September 10, 2024 at 5:42 PM.
