The teenage son of Iowa coach Fran McCaffery was cited with a misdemeanor earlier this week, stemming from a May 22 vehicle incident in which he struck and killed a National Guard soldier in Iowa City, Iowa.
Iowa City police said 16-year-old Jonathan McCaffery, who goes by Jack, was the driver of a 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe that struck Corey Hite, 45, of Cedar Rapids. Hite was jogging at the time.
Hite, a 27-year veteran of the National Guard, was initially hospitalized with a pelvis fracture, multiple skull fractures and holes in both his lung and kidney. The National Guard Sgt. First Class died June 4.
Police said an investigation led to the charge of failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Iowa law allows for an upgrade in the case of a death, which includes a $1,000 fine and a suspension of a driver’s license for up to 180 days.
Fran McCaffery and wife Margaret released a statement through their attorney saying they were told the accident was unavoidable.
“On May 22nd, just after leaving school, our 16-year-old son was the driver in a vehicle/pedestrian accident,” the McCafferys said. “Investigators have told us that it was an unavoidable accident with no evidence to suggest distracted driving. The pedestrian, who was jogging at the time of the accident, was waved in front of our son’s passing vehicle by the driver of another vehicle. The jogger, Sgt. First Class Corey Hite, passed away two weeks after the accident from the injuries he sustained.
“We are devastated by this tragedy. SFC Hite’s family has our deepest sympathies. While our family continues to process the events of the past weeks and help our son cope with this accident, we will have no further comment at this time.”
Jack McCaffery is due in court July 24. His identity as the driver was unknown until this week.
Fran McCaffery is entering his 14th season as Iowa coach. He has a 271-176 record and has guided the Hawkeyes to seven NCAA Tournament appearances. Iowa went 19-14 last season.
–Field Level Media
