LIMA — A college student who crashed his car after drinking, resulting in the death of his friend, has been indicted by the grand jury.
Zackery Brown, 21, of Waterford, Michigan, was indicted on aggravated vehicular homicide, a second-degree felony, aggravated vehicular homicide, a third-degree felony, and two counts of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse or a combination of them, both first-degree misdemeanors.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of eight years in prison.
The Nov. 10 crash killed 18-year-old Brenden Wale, of St. Louis, Michigan. Brown crashed a pickup truck off state Route 115 near the Allen-Putnam county line. By the time a state trooper arrived, he found Brown walking on the roadway but didn’t initially see the vehicle.
Brown led the trooper to the vehicle while asking him to help his friend, who had no signs of life.
Brown smelled of alcohol, according to the highway patrol. Brown told the trooper another vehicle was driving toward him on state Route 115 in his lane as he drove northbound. He said he drove off the road to avoid a crash, but the trooper said he found no evidence to prove Brown’s story.
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
