UPDATED: Elderly Corbin man now faces murder charge after sister dies from injuries sustained in high speed chase

A Corbin man is now facing a murder charge following his alleged involvement Monday in a wild high-speed chase in Rockcastle County during which he reportedly rammed his vehicle into a van driven by his brother and occupied by his sister.

Kentucky State Police said Tuesday that Clyde White, 78, of Corbin, has now been charged with murder following the death of his sister, Dorothy Whitaker, 83, of Richmond in a Lexington hospital.

According to Kentucky State Police Post 11 Public Affairs Officer Don Trosper, an off-duty Trooper observed at about 9:21 a.m., two vehicles involved in what appeared to be a car chase in the southbound lane of I-75.

White was driving a white van and was, apparently, chasing a blue van driven by Lawrence White, 82, of Lexington. Both vans left I-75 at Exit 62 and the white van was seen ramming into the blue van multiple times as they traveled on KY 461 at speeds in excess of 100 mph.

According to authorities, as the two vehicles neared US 150, White used his vehicle to force the blue van into a utility vehicle parked on the southbound shoulder. The parked vehicle was owned by Direct TV and occupied by Dakota McWhorter of Waco.

Both Lawrence White and Whitaker sustained serious injuries as a result of the crash. He was released from the hospital Monday night. She remained in critical condition until her death Tuesday.

Clyde White fled the scene, and in doing so hit a tractor-trailer driven by James Langford, of Tenn., and owned by Big G Express, Inc. of Shelbyville, Tenn. The vehicle was not severely damaged and Langford was uninjured.

While the motive for the incident remains under investigation, Trosper said that Lawrence White and Whitaker are Clyde White’s brother and sister.

"We are still looking into it and why it happened," Trosper said. "The people that were hurt still need to be interviewed."
Trosper said Clyde White gave police little useful information during the investigation.

"He really didn’t say much of anything that I am aware of."

Clyde White is currently lodged in the Rockcastle County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond. He was arraigned Tuesday in Rockcastle County District Court and pleaded guilty to all charges. Besides murder, he is charged with attempted murder and wanton endangerment.

Apparently, Clyde White had been living with his sister in Richmond after his Corbin home burned.

An ongoing investigation is being conducted by Trooper Ryan Loudermilk of KSP Post 11 in London. He was assisted at the scene by other personnel from Kentucky State Police, KSP Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, the Rockcastle County Sheriff’s Department, the Mount Vernon Police Department, Rockcastle County EMS and Air Methods air ambulance services.