Charges filed in deadly pedestrian accident
Posted: Dec 31, 2014 2:22 PM EDT | Updated: Dec 31, 2014 2:29 PM EDT
The St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office has officially charged John W. Staton for the December 6 accident that killed Amy Mitchell.
According to the investigation, Mitchell was crossing Ewing Street when she the case of soda she was carrying broke open. She bent down to pick up the spilled cans when she was struck.
Mitchell died at the hospital from her injuries.
Staton was taken into custody after the accident.
Staton has been charged with one count of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing death of another person.
The investigation revealed Staton had been at a party before the accident and had consumed two glasses of wine. He told police he had stopped drinking at 6:30 p.m.
Staton failed sobriety tests conducted at the scene. His BAC was .117.
Inside Staton's Dodge Durango, officers found a bottle of whiskey with a small amount of brown liquid, according to court records.
A driver told investigators he was driving on Ewing Avenue when a Dodge Durango was tailgating his vehicle. Then the Durango passed and almost hit his vehicle.