Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
A Columbia City teen was convicted Monday in Kosciusko Superior Court 3 for driving while intoxicated and causing serious bodily injury.
Ryan Lee Oler, 19, formerly of Pierceton, tested positive for marijuana after a Dec. 19, 1998, accident in which he and two passengers were injured.
Oler was on CR 500S, east of Ind. 13, when the car he was driving bottomed out after coming over a hill. The car then spun backwards and left the roadway. At the time of the accident, Oler told police that his two passengers were no longer in the vehicle when the car came to a rest.
Shaun Craft suffered a broken collarbone and was airlifted to a Fort Wayne hospital after the accident. Roy Riley suffered a large V-shaped cut to the top of his head.
After Oler failed a drug screen administered at Kosciusko Community Hospital, Indiana State Police requested two charges of driving while intoxicated and causing serious bodily injury be filed against him because Oler tested positive for marijuana and morphine in his blood stream. The second count, for morphine, was dismissed prior to the start of Monday's trial.
Kosciusko County Prosecutor Chuck Waggoner said the jury deliberated just 21 minutes before returning its verdict.
Deputy Prosecutor Dan Nelson presented the case for the state, with Warsaw attorney Dan Hampton serving as Oler's court-appointed attorney.
Sentencing for Oler is set for 2 p.m. Feb. 25, at which time he could receiving up to three years in prison and a maximum of $10,000 in fines.
