A Louisville-area man is facing charges after police say he ran over a cardboard box in a local cemetery, killing a homeless man who was sleeping inside, then fled the scene without calling for help.
Brad Brinkley, 40, was driving through Bethany Cemetery on the outskirts of Louisville when he struck the box containing Carl Michael Kinley, 45, according to police. Court documents say Brinkley drove back to the area afterward to check what he had hit, and when he got out of his vehicle, he could see Kinley’s hand sticking out of the crushed box. Fresh tire marks were found across the makeshift shelter.
Witnesses told authorities that Brinkley sat silently in his truck with his head down before leaving the cemetery without speaking to anyone. Cemetery staff said Brinkley typically stayed after such incidents and even helped remove tarps following funerals.
Employees flagged down a Louisville Metropolitan Police Department officer to report a man had been found dead at the back of the property.
Police say Brinkley told groundskeeper Thomas Litsey, 60, that he knew he had run over a person before he left. Litsey initially told police he was the one who found the body, but later changed his account, telling investigators that Brinkley had informed him of what happened. Police believe Litsey was attempting to shield Brinkley from suspicion.
According to court documents, Brinkley could not explain to investigators why he failed to call police after seeing the hand, or why he left the cemetery so quickly.
Kinley’s brother, Charles Barbe, described him as a generous man well known in the community.
“I got a million questions, a million questions,” Barbe told local outlet WDRB. “Everybody loved him. The dude would take the shirt off his back for anybody, you know? He would give his last meal to somebody else if they were hungry, you know? I mean, just that kind of guy.”
Brinkley was arrested Thursday and charged with reckless homicide, leaving the scene of an accident involving serious injury without rendering aid, tampering with physical evidence, and failure to report a traffic accident. Litsey was arrested and charged with complicity to tampering with physical evidence.
A Kentucky judge set Brinkley’s bond at $250,000 and Litsey’s bond at $50,000.
