Texas Man Arrested In 2015 Crash That Hurt 5

June 27, 2017 at 5:19 p.m.

By Michael [email protected]

A Texas man was arrested Saturday in connection with a crash that injured five other people in 2015.

Eric Rodriguez, 29, Pampa, Texas, is facing charges of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing a serious bodily injury.

The accident happened June 26, 2015, at the intersection of Detroit Street and the U.S. 30 highway ramp in Warsaw at about 9:46 p.m. A van was traveling home from a concert in the park when it collided with Rodriguez’s vehicle.

Rodriguez told police he only remembered the sun going down but nothing else.

Rodriguez refused a field sobriety test, but later had his blood drawn and was found to be .13. The legal limit is .08. He was injured in the crash.

Penny Paul, 32, Bremen, was ejected from the van and had lacerations to her head.

The driver of the van, ?Ashley Tinman, 27, Knox,  told police she was driving her passengers back from the concert in the park and couldn’t remember the accident. Tinman had injuries to her chest.

Three other passengers also were injured. Donald Rininger, 64; Tod Rininger, 50; and Susan Rininger, 60 at the time of the accident, all of Plymouth, all had minor injuries.

Susan Rininger has since died but the cause of her death is unrelated to injuries from the crash, according to Capt. Kip Shuter, Warsaw Police Department.

A warrant was issued for Rodriguez’s arrest in February 2016, and he was picked up Saturday.

The long path to Rodriguez’s arrest took a detour through the federal prison system.

Rodriguez just finished a 22-month prison sentence for trying to smuggle undocumented immigrants into the United States.

Kosciusko County Prosecutor Dan Hampton said they will generally wait for someone to finish serving their sentence in another state before extraditing them back to Indiana.

Rodriguez is facing separate charges in a separate drunk driving incident in Silver Lake.

He was previously convicted of driving while intoxicated in Gray County, Texas.

 

A Texas man was arrested Saturday in connection with a crash that injured five other people in 2015.

Eric Rodriguez, 29, Pampa, Texas, is facing charges of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing a serious bodily injury.

The accident happened June 26, 2015, at the intersection of Detroit Street and the U.S. 30 highway ramp in Warsaw at about 9:46 p.m. A van was traveling home from a concert in the park when it collided with Rodriguez’s vehicle.

Rodriguez told police he only remembered the sun going down but nothing else.

Rodriguez refused a field sobriety test, but later had his blood drawn and was found to be .13. The legal limit is .08. He was injured in the crash.

Penny Paul, 32, Bremen, was ejected from the van and had lacerations to her head.

The driver of the van, ?Ashley Tinman, 27, Knox,  told police she was driving her passengers back from the concert in the park and couldn’t remember the accident. Tinman had injuries to her chest.

Three other passengers also were injured. Donald Rininger, 64; Tod Rininger, 50; and Susan Rininger, 60 at the time of the accident, all of Plymouth, all had minor injuries.

Susan Rininger has since died but the cause of her death is unrelated to injuries from the crash, according to Capt. Kip Shuter, Warsaw Police Department.

A warrant was issued for Rodriguez’s arrest in February 2016, and he was picked up Saturday.

The long path to Rodriguez’s arrest took a detour through the federal prison system.

Rodriguez just finished a 22-month prison sentence for trying to smuggle undocumented immigrants into the United States.

Kosciusko County Prosecutor Dan Hampton said they will generally wait for someone to finish serving their sentence in another state before extraditing them back to Indiana.

Rodriguez is facing separate charges in a separate drunk driving incident in Silver Lake.

He was previously convicted of driving while intoxicated in Gray County, Texas.

 

Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092

e-Edition


e-edition

Sign up


for our email newsletters

Weekly Top Stories

Sign up to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every Sunday

Daily Updates & Breaking News Alerts

Sign up to get our daily updates and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox daily

Latest Stories


Court News 04.26.25
The following people have filed for marriage licenses with Kosciusko County Clerk Melissa Boggs:

Public Occurrences 04.26.25
County Jail Bookings The following people were arrested and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail:

Fast Start Allows Warsaw To Cruise Past Plymouth
Looking to move past a mercy-rule loss to Goshen earlier this week, the Warsaw baseball team set their eyes on a different Northern Lakes Conference opponent on Friday: Plymouth. The Tigers started fast, scoring seven runs in the first inning en route to a 10-2 victory.

Firefighters Use Science & Math As They Train On A Real Home
Firefighting is not just putting water on the flames, there’s science and math involved.

Rise Up Event Raises Over $107K For The Magical Meadows
A goal to raise $100,000 was surpassed at the Rise Up Event Thursday evening. Rise Up is the annual fundraiser for The Magical Meadows to support its mission.