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Avoiding any appearance of impropriety is the catalyst for Kosciusko County Prosecutor Charles Waggoner to excuse himself from a drunk driving case in which a teen-ager was killed.
Waggoner said today that one of the victims in the May 18 accident was a student in a Sunday school class he taught.
Andrew J. Cook, 19, of Claypool, died in the accident on Wildwood Trail in a housing subdivision on Goose Lake. The driver of the car, Paul Randall Finnegan, 19, of Silver Lake, was preliminarily charged with driving while intoxicated causing death and leaving the scene of an accident. Cook was a front-seat passenger in the car that belonged to his mother and stepfather.
Waggoner confirmed this morning that a special prosecutor has been requested in that case. The matter is being considered by Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Rex Reed and a time frame for a decision has not been established.
Authorities also are considering charges against other people involved in incidents surrounding the fatal accident.
Finnegan, Cook and three other people who were in the car at the time of the accident were leaving a party at the Tobias Buck residence when the car they were in struck a tree. One passenger, Macy Moore, 19, of Warsaw, suffered a broken neck and was a patient at Parkview Hospital, Fort Wayne, until May 20. The other two passengers, Daniel Garrido, 18, and Justin Miller, 19, both of Warsaw, suffered minor injuries and were treated at Kosciusko Community Hospital and released.
Finnegan, who reportedly walked away from the accident scene, also was treated at KCH and released. He was brought to the hospital several hours after the accident.
Police have interviewed more than 20 people as part of the accident investigation. Ten people at the Buck residence that night were arrested for underage drinking.
According to transcripts of several of the interviews conducted, it was not uncommon for teens to congregate at the Buck residence for the purpose of consuming alcoholic beverages.
The teens in the car that Finnegan was driving allegedly were drinking beer prior to arriving at Buck's residence and some also consumed alcohol at the party there. Finnegan told police he drank seven beers prior to the accident, but drank only water after the crash.
