It was around 2 a.m. when the victim stepped outside his home on Juniper Beach Road in Prospect, Kentucky — a quiet community northeast of Louisville — to search for the family cat. What happened next left him in the hospital with devastating injuries and his family demanding answers.
Investigators say Thomas Kolb, 27, was behind the wheel of a black 2016 Jeep Cherokee when he slammed into the man. The victim staggered back inside his home bleeding from his mouth and head, according to the victim’s wife. Their daughter immediately called 911.
The injured man was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors confirmed he had suffered a brain bleed, a broken jaw and cheekbone, and lost multiple teeth. His current condition has not been officially confirmed.
What made the incident even more disturbing was what the victim’s wife revealed to police. She told investigators that hours before the crash, she and her husband had been at a local bar — where she noticed a man smiling at them. That same man, she said, was Kolb.
After the crash, she said Kolb returned to their home. When she confronted him — “You ran over my husband” — he allegedly responded: “Something came out of the dark.”
Investigators pieced the case together using video footage from a nearby business and drink receipts that placed Kolb at the bar. Officers later located the Jeep Cherokee — with fresh front-end damage — at a home connected to a relative of Kolb’s.
Charges against Thomas Kolb, 27
- Operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol
- First-degree assault
- Leaving the scene of an accident involving death or serious physical injury
Kolb was taken into custody on Friday and is being held on a $75,000 bond. A judge has ordered him to have no contact with the victim or his family and has prohibited him from driving until further notice.
The investigation remains ongoing.
