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The driver killed in a one-car accident tested positive for alcohol in his system and negative for the presence of drugs, authorities said.
Kosciusko County Coroner Larry Ladd said Monday that three alcohol tests have been conducted on blood drawn from Robert G. Chapman Jr., 48, of Winona Lake, after the Aug. 15 accident.
The blood was tested three times because the numbers achieved from the results are not believed accurate. It is now believed that the blood samples taken were somehow contaminated and a precise blood-alcohol level for Chapman cannot be determined.
Ladd said there was alcohol present in Chapman's blood, but a determination as to whether Chapman was above the .10 percent level deemed legally impaired will never be known. He said no other substances were detected in Chapman's blood.
Chapman died Aug. 15 when his car struck a tree on East Pierceton Road. Chapman was alone in the car, which police said was traveling at a high rate of speed, when the vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree. The impact of the accident was on the driver's side.
