Ryan Bagwell

A case against a man accused of causing a deadly crash on Lovers Lane last year while driving under the influence may be settled without a trial.

Attorneys involved in the case against Ryan Bagwell both indicated during a hearing Tuesday in Warren Circuit Court that plea negotiations are ongoing.

Bagwell, 31, of White House, Tennessee, is accused of driving while impaired during a crash that occurred July 24 on Lovers Lane that resulted in the death of Ashley C. Porter, 40, of Bowling Green.

A grand jury indicted Bagwell on charges of murder, two counts of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, first-degree criminal mischief, tampering with physical evidence, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence (fourth or greater offense), second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, third-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

At a pretrial conference Tuesday, Bagwell’s attorney, Alan Simpson, told Warren Circuit Judge John Grise that Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney Kori Beck Bumgarner had extended an offer to resolve the case and that he had made a counteroffer.

Bumgarner confirmed that information, telling Grise that she had met with Porter’s family last week and would speak with them again in the near future to discuss the counteroffer.

Neither the terms of the offer or counteroffer were disclosed in open court Tuesday.

“We are making strides and will try to get this resolved,” Simpson said in court.

Grise set a pretrial conference for Aug. 12.

The Bowling Green Police Department investigated the crash, in which Porter was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police took a statement from Bagwell at The Medical Center, where he was treated.

Bagwell reportedly told police that he had traveled to Bowling Green from White House to collect money for a job he had completed and that he planned to return to White House after receiving payment.

According to prior court testimony, Bagwell used a GPS app on his phone to aid in navigation and he drew a diagram of the crash for detectives.

At a preliminary hearing last year in Warren District Court, BGPD Detective Matthew Poore testified that Bagwell acknowledged smoking marijuana the night before the crash, and the detective also said that Bagwell appeared to have drooping eyelids, redness in his eyes and slow speech.

Preliminary evidence indicated that Bagwell was traveling on Lovers Lane toward Cemetery Road, while Porter was traveling in the opposite direction toward her workplace, Poore said while testifying last year.

Poore testified that evidence showed that the crash occurred in Porter’s lane of travel after Bagwell crossed the center of the road.