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No charges will be filed against anyone for contributing to the delinquency of minors or furnishing alcohol to minors in connection with a May 18 fatal traffic accident.
Andrew J. Cook, 19, of Claypool, died in the accident on Wildwood Trail in a housing subdivision on Goose Lake, south of Warsaw.
Cook was among several individuals in a car that left the Tobias Buck residence on Wildwood Trail after all of the vehicle occupants allegedly consumed alcoholic beverages. The car, driven by Paul Randall Finnegan, 19, of Silver Lake, hit a tree a short distance from the Buck home.
Police said some of the teens arrived at the Buck's home from another party, where they were allegedly drinking previously, and alcoholic beverages were reportedly found in the car Finnegan was driving.
Several people under age 21 who were still at the Buck residence when police arrived were charged with illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor after review of their cases by Whitley County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Rentschler. The three injured teens in the car also were charged with underage drinking.
Rentschler was appointed as special prosecutor in the case after Kosciusko County Prosecutor Charles Waggoner excused himself from the matter to avoid any appearance of impropriety because of his personal contact with at least one person involved in the matter.
Rentschler also was asked to determine whether anyone should be charged for providing the alcohol that the minors consumed.
"After reviewing the potential evidence, I have determined not to file additional charges," Rentschler wrote in a two-paragraph press release.
Although Finnegan was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail the night of the accident and preliminarily charged with driving while intoxicated/causing death and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, no officials charges have been filed against him. Finnegan's case is being reviewed by a member of the Fulton County Prosecutor's Office.
Most of the illegal consumption of alcohol charges have been decided in Kosciusko Superior Court II. The accused who pleaded guilty to the charges and paid fines will be listed in Tuesday's court news.
