Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
A Warsaw teen killed in a Jan. 2 Wabash County accident was not driving the car when it flipped end over end, killing him and injuring two other teens.
According to the Wabash County Sheriff's Department, Tony Marcum Jr., 16, was not driving the car when the fatal accident occurred.
WCSD has forwarded the case to the county's juvenile probation department and the prosecutor's office: "They're determining what the appropriate charge will be" against the driver, said Wabash County Sheriff Tim Roberts.
The alleged driver of the car, Nate Morse, 15, of North Manchester, will reportedly be charged in a juvenile court with reckless homicide and false reporting. Wabash County's chief deputy prosecutor, Dave Magley, said that Morse also faces a charge in traffic court of operating a vehicle while never having received a license.
If the court finds probable cause for the charges, an initial hearing will be held. The charges are not treated as criminal charges with a child because they are acts of delinquency that would be crimes if they were committed by an adult, said Magley.
The usual basis for trying juveniles as adults is the existence of a prior record with the juvenile probation department, he said.
Authorities report that Marcum allegedly switched places with Morse after leaving the presence of adults. "They had gone to different areas together, and at some point Marcum had permitted Morse to drive the car," Magley said.
Magley added that the adult owners of the car would probably not face any charges in the case. He would not release the name of the car's owner.
Also injured in the accident was Meghann Hileman, North Manchester.
