RALEIGH, N.C. — For the first time since his charges were elevated from a misdemeanor to a felony, the driver who lost control of his truck and struck and killed an 11-year-old girl in the Raleigh Christmas parade returned to court Wednesday.
Landen Glass, 20, wearing a navy blue suit, appeared in court to have the conditions of his release set on his new charge of involuntary manslaughter.
Judge Keith Gregory set Glass’s secured bond at $250,000. He also required that Glass have electronic monitoring and be banned from driving in North Carolina without being properly licensed. Glass must drive a vehicle that has been properly inspected.
Gregory also ordered Glass to take an immediate drug test for illegal substances. If Glass tests positive, his bond will be doubled.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Glass remained in custody at the Wake County Detention Center.
Trey Brooks, the father of Hailey Brooks, the girl who was killed, spoke after court adjourned on Wednesday.
“We went to the parade as a family of five as a tradition for our family. We went home that day as a family of four,” Trey Brooks said.
“We just want to let people know who Hailey was,” he said. “As a father, as her parents, we can’t really put into words the individual she was. She was a beautiful life. She was kind and caring brilliant and beautiful. She was a free spirit who yearned to be around people.”
In November, Glass was driving a white pickup truck in the Raleigh Christmas parade when he lost control of the vehicle. Video footage from the parade shows Glass’s truck traveling down Hillsborough Street at a low speed when it struck Hailey.
Trey Brooks also called for “meaningful safety changes” and announced the creation of a foundation called Shine Like Hailey.
He described his daughter as someone who “loved to give a big hug” and said if she were still alive “she would hate the pain and suffering so many people have gone through.”
A courtroom filled with Brooks and Glass families
The courtroom Wednesday slowly filled up with family and friends of both the Glass and Brooks families. Red dance team sweatshirts, teal hoodies and pink T-shirts peppered the courtroom, a visual reminder of Hailey Brooks’ youth.
As Hailey’s parents, April and Trey, entered the courtroom, family and friends cleared a spot for them in the front row and formed a momentary but noticeable human chain, placing their hands on the shoulders in front of them as they breathed together slowly and shakily.
April Brooks cried as prosecutor Shaun Taylor talked about Hailey’s injuries. Trey Brooks put his hand on her back and consoled her.
A little girl in a pink sweatshirt, frayed white jeans and a pair of Nike sneakers stared straight ahead from the defense side, her feet too short to touch the floor.
More than two dozen people, including Glass’s 11-year-old sister, convened in the courtroom, split fairly evenly between the Glass and Brooks families.
“Out here in the audience is friends and family who are here to support him today,” said Roger Smith, Glass’s attorney. “What happened to Hailey Brooks at the parade was an utter heartbreak and tragedy. We can’t imagine the pain and sadness her family is experiencing right now.’
A truck not in ‘proper order’
In court, Smith said his client had made several long-distance trips to New York in the truck involved in the parade without any incidents.
Two of Glass’s friends were in the truck during the parade, Smith said. One honked an air horn, another shouted for people to move and Glass continued to press down on the brakes.
“Landen is so sorry for what happened. He’s haunted by what happened. He will be haunted by those events for the rest of his life,” Smith said. “He tried desperately to avoid what happened that day. He did everything he could to stop that truck that day but he just couldn’t.”
Taylor, the prosecutor, sharply disagreed.
“That’s wrong,” Taylor said. “What he did not do is check that his truck was in proper order.”
While the defense repeatedly stated that the brakes on the truck had failed, the prosecution, which tested and investigated the truck, allege that the brakes worked fine.
“There were zero signs of brake failure,” Taylor said in court. He also said further testing will be done on the vehicle.
On the day of the parade, law enforcement interviewed the two men who were in the truck with Glass during the crash.
When asked why Glass didn’t deploy the emergency brake, the passenger told officers, “Because he didn’t have one,” Taylor said.
The prosecution stated that Glass had multiple modifications to his truck and several overdue inspections that made the vehicle a danger to parade attendees. One modification, Taylor said, was a lift kit and the removal of the emergency brake from the truck, which Glass admitted to in an interview with police.
Smith said Glass’s truck has not been investigated by the defense, and said the lift kit was on the truck when he bought it. He alleged there were no “significant modifications to that truck.”
In addition to the modifications, Taylor said Glass told police he had attempted to replace his own brake fluid and flush his brake lines six months before the parade.
Landen Glass’s driving history
Throughout the hearing, Glass’s previous driving record and vehicle maintenance history were at the forefront of discussion.
Taylor said he reviewed Glass’s driving record, which included “more than a dozen traffic infractions and vehicle equipment violations in Virginia since 2021,” The N&O previously reported, and noted that Glass was previously ordered to take a driver safety course in Virginia and initially refused to attend.
The prosecution also stated that Glass had failed to get vehicles he owns inspected on six previous occasions. Although not all of these inspections were in relation to the truck he drove in the parade, Taylor argued this speaks to Glass’ overall attitude to vehicle safety.
“It doesn’t matter what he’s driving, he just doesn’t care,” Taylor said. “He does not care. He didn’t care when he drove down here to drive in this parade. He has apparent disregard to comply with any safety statutes.”
Taylor alleged Glass avoided getting his truck inspected because he knew it would not pass and once those safety changes were made “it wouldn’t look cool anymore.”
Taylor said he pulled traffic cam video from across the city the morning of the parade, and that Glass had run a red light.
For the defense, Smith said he can’t draw the line of logic between the truck being inspected and the brake issues being caught ahead of the parade.
But Gregory, the judge, disagreed.
“It would be negligent and possibly unconscionable to not take into account the inspection,” Gregory said.
“If there had been an inspection, if there had been an emergency break, this might not have happened.”
The Raleigh Christmas Parade tragedy
Brooks was a member of the CC & Company Dance Complex and was dancing with her troupe in the parade.
Hours later, Glass was charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, careless and reckless driving, improper equipment, unsafe movement and carrying a firearm in a parade.
Since then, he has appeared in court once where the case was ultimately continued until March 29.
Last week, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman announced that Glass would no longer be charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, and instead would face a more severe charge: involuntary manslaughter, a Class F felony.
Freeman’s announcement came after a grand jury returned a true bill of indictment against Glass, stating that there is cause to increase the charges against him.
“The defendant unlawfully and wiIIfuIIy did drive a vehicle on Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC, highway, without decreasing his speed as necessary to avoid colliding with a person, operating vehicle that was equipped with brakes that were inadequate to control the movement of and to stop the vehicle, having improper equipment without inspection,” the indictment says.
It continues:
“This violation was the proximate cause of death.”
Smith said he has over 50 letters attesting to Glass’s character. Glass is a former dancer with CC & Co. and danced from the time he was 13 until he was 18.
Glass performed in the Raleigh Christmas Parade for years before the crash. This was his first year driving a float.
