Police: Hampton man killed friend, blamed him for crash
State police told Robert Lee Ham II’s family in February that the 22-yearold from Newport News was driving a Honda Civic that crashed — killing him — on Interstate 64 near the Mallory Street exit. Then local news media told the rest of Hampton Roads.
Now, state police believe someone else was driving the car.
More than seven months after the crash, state police asked for help locating Kalik Kydarial Newsome, 23, of Hampton. Newsome is wanted on three charges in the crash — involuntary manslaughter, felony eluding police and DUI second offense.
Newsome told police he was the passenger and that Ham was driving, according to a Tuesday news release from police. Police investigation later found that was false.
“I told my parents that night I knew it wasn’t my brother — my brother wouldn’t do that,” said Ashley Ham, Robert Ham’s sister. “I had it in my head the entire time — I knew he wasn’t driving.”
Around 10:29 p.m. Feb. 7, a state trooper noticed that the 2017 Honda Civic was traveling eastbound on Interstate 64 without its headlights at a “high rate of speed.”
The trooper turned on his lights and sirens to try to pull the car over, but instead the car accelerated — reaching speeds over 100 mph.
The driver — who police investigation later found was Newsome — lost control of the Civic and the car rolled several times.
Newsome was ejected from the vehicle and had injuries police considered to be life-threatening.
Police said Ham was found inside the car. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ham’s mother, Venus Ham, said she was driving toward the Mallory exit when she noticed a commotion — the scene of the crash. She estimated she arrived about 10 minutes after it happened.
In an email, she described the pain of more than two hours of waiting in the cold on the side of the road to find out whether her son was the one who had been involved in the crash.
Venus Ham said state troopers asked to describe her son, who did not have identification with him at the time of the crash. The troopers asked for pictures of Robert Ham and asked whether he had any tattoos.
Then, standing near the scene of the crash, she learned her son was dead.
Robert Ham’s age was incorrectly reported in the news release the day after the crash. He would have turned 23 in August.
“He loved living life. He loved being happy. He loved joking. He was the funniest person I knew. That boy made me laugh more than anything in this world,” Ashley Ham, 24, said.
A few hours after Ham’s
family left the scene of the c ra s h, state troopers knocked on their door and told them he was driving the car when it crashed.
Venus Ham said soon after the troopers left she saw the story of the crash on television news. She started to panic. Robert Ham had five siblings, and not all of them knew about the crash.
Approximately nine hours after the crash, at 7:32 a.m. Feb. 8, state police sent a news release to local media.
A spokeswoman for the department, Sgt. Michelle Anaya, said Tuesday that Newsome told police Ham was driving. Further investigation, which included witnesses coming forward after the crash, found Newsome was driving.
Ashley Ham said she couldn’t bring herself to read the articles about her brother ’s death unti l months after the crash.
“It hurt me because he was portrayed as someone who didn’t care about his life or anyone else’s. It wasn’t him — they were writing about a complete stranger,” she said.
Ashley Ham said she had a close bond with her brother and that the pair, who are about a year apart in age, were often mistaken for twins.
“Some people are never even blessed to have such a bond with somebody, but I thank God that I at least had the time with him that I did,” she said.
He was the “best uncle” to her daughter Ava, who was 5 months old at the time of the crash. Ashley Ham said he often helped with diapers, formula and caring for the baby girl when the child’s father wasn’t around.
Venus Ham said her son was “larger than life” and lived every day to the fullest.
“Robbie wasn’t perfect by far. He made mistakes just like everyone,” Venus Ham said. “He was real, though. His word was his bond. He stood up for what he believed in.”
After the crash, the family said a difficult loss became even harder.
Following the media coverage of the crash, several family members — Robert
Ham’s grandmother, mother and sister — said they received hurtful messages. People said he “got what he deserved” and the family should be grateful the gene pool ended with him.
“He was one of the most loving and caring people. He was one of the most trustworthy and loyal people. He would have given you the shirt off his back if you needed it,” Ashley Ham said.
Robert Ham was an organ donor, and the Lions Medical Eye Bank told the family in a letter that his eyes gave two recipients “the gift of sight.”
Anaya said she couldn’t tell the public Newsome was being investigated as the driver until it was certain he would be charged. A Hampton grand jury indicted him on Sept. 8.
The family was told police were waiting on DNA test results from pieces of the Civic before seeking charges against Newsome.
Venus Ham said since the crash many of her son’s friends have come by to check on the family, but she hasn’t heard from or seen Newsome.
“I had thought that they were good friends, but after seeing how Kalik has handled the situation since, I think it would break my brother’s heart,” Ashley Ham said.
State police said Newsome’s last known residence was in the 500 block of Smiley Road in Hampton. Anyone with information about where he might be is asked to contact the Virginia State Police at 757-4246800 or email questions@vsp.virginia.gov.