An arrest warrant has been issued for a man accused of leaving his girlfriend after a fatal motorcycle accident

Neil Peter Meyer in court earlier

A lawyer said he has been in contact with his client who is in hiding in a case in which he is accused of vehicular homicide.

Attorney Johnny Houston said he expects Neil Peter Meyer to turn himself in soon. He said Meyer, who is from Morristown, Tn. comes, has an unreliable vehicle, which sometimes causes him to be late for court.

Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman ordered Meyer’s arrest in July and set bail at $1 million when he then failed to show up.

Judge Steelman previously reduced bond for Meyer, who police said left town after a motorcycle accident that killed his girlfriend.

In May 2023, he reduced Meyer’s bond from $501,500 to $100,000.

At the time, Meyer was placed on a GPS monitoring device and told to use an ignition interlock device. He would be supervised by preparatory services and undergo a drug test.

Attorney Houston said at the time that a $500,000 bond was far higher than most other vehicular homicide cases, including the one in which six Woodmore Elementary children were killed and the recent Volkswagen accident that killed one employee and left another was seriously injured.

The attorney noted that Meyer had spent seven months in jail without the case ever being brought before the grand jury.

Prosecutor Jason Demastus also conceded that the state could not prove whether or not Meyer was intoxicated at the time of the early morning wreck on Fairview Road. Since he left the scene, his blood has not been tested.

The prosecutor, who said he was new to the case, said he would personally take the case to the grand jury within a month.

Meyer also faces charges in Hamblen County. Judge Steelman noted that he faces 3 to 6 years if convicted on the local case, but faces 8 to 12 years on meth charges in Hamblen County.

Meyer had moved to Chattanooga from his longtime home in Fresno, California, with girlfriend, 39-year-old Kristie Leigh Hudson, and her three children. Around the same time, Meyer’s wife left California with their three children and moved to Morristown, Tennessee.

The fatal incident occurred on September 10, 2022, and Meyer was arrested three days later in Morristown. It was testified that the drug charges were filed after Meyer’s wife called police and said drugs were found in a cooler at her home and that they were not hers. The woman has since moved back to California with the children.

Meyer testified at an earlier hearing that he does not use drugs. Prosecutor Demascus said Meyer had drunk driving convictions in California in 2008 and 2013.

Meyer said he had worked in Chattanooga as a foreman for a flooring group. He said he was in the process of setting up his own flooring and pressure washing business.

Police say Meyer was riding a motorcycle with his girlfriend as a passenger when it struck and destroyed a guardrail. He then left the scene.

Traffic investigator Steven York said Ms Hudson’s body was spotted by a passer-by around 7.30am that morning, lying on the lawn of a home.

He said evidence showed that a motorcycle had wrecked on a bend during rainy weather and had become stuck behind the guardrail.

The officer said the girlfriend suffered serious leg injuries when the motorcycle struck the guardrail, but the medical examiner said she died of a broken neck after she was thrown 30 feet from the crash with the guardrail.

Investigator York said evidence also showed that Meyer apparently walked to Mrs. Hudson’s nearby home on Harbor View Drive, where he retrieved his Dodge Ram truck and returned to the scene of the wreck. He said tire tracks were found there that matched those on his truck. Two motorcycle helmets were present at the scene of the wreck.

The officer said the damaged motorcycle was later found on a dead-end street near the Hudson residence. He said Ms Hudson’s body had been moved about 15 meters from the scene of the collision.

It was testified that Meyer took from the house a photograph of him and Mrs. Hudson which had hung on the wall.

At an earlier hearing, it was testified that Meyer sent a text message to Ms. Hudson’s 16-year-old daughter, saying he “admitted to blacking out and wasn’t sure what happened.” He said he “hit his head so hard and didn’t remember much.” He said he “tried to pick her up but his legs, lungs, abs and ribs were broken and he was so sorry that the road was wet and had no traction.”

It was also stated during the preliminary hearing that while in California, Meyer was part of the 5 Diamonds Motorcycle Gang.