GREENSBORO — Jurors found TikTok star Jessica Middlebrook, known as “towtruckjess” on social media, not guilty of involuntary manslaughter Thursday morning in a deadly 2019 crash involving an elderly couple on a motorcycle.
Middlebrook fell to her seat sobbing when the verdict was announced after a two-day trial in Guilford County Superior Court.
“I kept my faith through this trial,” the 37-year-old Middlebrook would later tell the News & Record outside the courtroom. She declined further comment.
The family of Patricia Willard, who died at the scene when the motorcycle her husband was driving hit the back of Middlebrook’s tow truck, which was left parked on a road, looked stunned at the jury’s decision. Some of them dabbed at tears.
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Willard’s son Allen Hall said that while he disagrees with the jury’s decision, the family respects the court process.
“We hoped for a guilty verdict,” Hall said. “We do feel that Jessica is guilty in our hearts and in our minds.
“It’s affected a whole family.”
Jerry Willard tried to avoid a collision but ended up hitting the back left corner of the tow truck’s bed, which prosecutor Scott Drorbaugh likened to a “sword.” Jerry Willard spent months in the hospital.
“It was such a bizarre case,” said defense attorney Jan Pritchett, who represented Middlebrook along with attorney Joel Oakley. “One of the most stressful of my career.”
Pritchett had told the jury that Middlebrook had left the vehicle parked in the road outside of her home on a dead-end road in rural Guilford County about 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning as she rushed in to tend to a sick child. He likened it to delivery trucks routinely doing the same thing. The collision took place shortly after.
Middlebrook, a 37-year-old who has amassed 2.9 million followers with inspiring and fun clips on her TikTok profile, did not testify during the trial. She reactivated her account following today’s outcome.
The defense placed blame for the accident on Jerry Willard’s driving, saying he was speeding and should have spotted the parked truck sooner.
Jurors showed early signs of struggling after being given the case on Wednesday morning. The jury sent three messages over the course of four hours to Guilford County Superior Court Judge Stuart Albright, who at the end of the day asked them to continue deliberations Thursday. Jurors came back with the verdict within 45 minutes of beginning their second day of deliberations.
Hall said that while Middlebrook continued to post videos after the accident, that she has not apologized to the immediate family.
“My mom was a very religious person who stuck by her faith, and she did believe in forgiveness,” Hall said. “My mom would say that Jessica would have to start down that road of forgiveness and owning up as well.”
