*** MEDIA ADVISORY *** July 3, 2007                                                         FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMedia Contact:  Curtis T. Hill, Jr.  574-296-1888 PROSECUTING ATTORNEY DECLINES TO FILE CHARGESIN TOLL ROAD CRASH OF APRIL 26, 2007 After reviewing the police reports regarding the above-referenced case, I am declining to prosecute Leonardo Cooksey, age 32, of Mount Prospect, Illinois, for the fatal traffic crash that occurred on April 26, 2007, on the Indiana Toll Road, in Elkhart County, Indiana. The evidence reflected in the report of the Indiana State Police  indicates that on April 26, 2006, at approximately 6:40 a.m., Leonardo Cooksey was driving a semi-tractor trailer west in the driving lane on the Indiana Toll Road.  Traffic ahead of Mr. Cooksey had stopped in the right westbound driving lane of travel at approximately the 102.8 mile marker, just west of the County Road 131 overpass.  Westbound traffic had stopped because a tow truck, which was being assisted by the Indiana State Police and Toll Road Maintenance personnel, was pulling a semi-tractor trailer out of the north ditch at the 100 mile marker.  This semi-tractor trailer had slid off the roadway and was in a construction zone.  As Mr. Cooksey approached the stopped traffic in his lane of travel, he was not paying attention to the roadway ahead of him.  By the time Mr. Cooksey realized traffic had stopped in his lane of travel, it was too late for him to stop or swerve to avoid striking the vehicles stopped ahead of him.  The force of Mr. Cooksey’s semi-tractor trailer hitting the stopped vehicles set off a chain reaction crash which resulted in the deaths of eight (8) motorists, serious bodily injury to one (1) motorist and bodily injury to one (1) motorist.  The crash did not occur in a roadway construction zone.             An inspection was done on Mr. Cooksey’s semi-tractor trailer after the crash by ISP.  No pre-crash mechanical violations were discovered during this inspection.  In addition, Mr. Cooksey did not have any log book violations.  After the crash, Mr. Cooksey was transported to Elkhart General Hospital so that a blood and urine sample could be obtained from him for alcohol and drug testing.  The results of his blood alcohol and urine drug screen were negative.  Victims’ Information 1.  Deceased – Douglas George - Age:  63 - Home: Springfield, New Hampshire 2.  Deceased – Mary George – Age:  63 - Home: Springfield, New Hampshire 3.  Deceased – Mark Repp – Age: 45 - Home: Sturgis, Michigan  4.  Deceased – Samuel Yoder –  Age: 46 - Home:  Wolcottville, Indiana 5.  Deceased – Anthony Yoder – Age: 17 - Home:  Wolcottville, Indiana  6.  Deceased – Merle Miller – Age: 44 - Home:  Ligonier, Indiana 7.  Deceased – Lester Yoder – Age: 36 - Home: Topeka, Indiana 8.  Deceased – Vernon Miller – Age: 38 - Home: Wolcottville, Indiana 9.  Serious Bodily Injury – Wayne Lehman – Age: 31 - Home: LaGrange, Indiana 10.  Bodily Injury – Roger Lewis – Age: 57 - Home: Sturgis, Michigan Slide-off Crash Details ·        On April 26, 2007, at approximately 4:41 a.m., an Indiana State Police Trooper was dispatched to a semi-tractor trailer that had slid off the westbound roadway at the 100 mile marker. ·        The roadway was reduced to a single lane, the right driving lane, at the 101 mile marker. ·        At approximately 5:17 a.m., ISP Troopers arrived at the scene and as the bumper of the semi-tractor trailer was sticking out into the roadway causing a traffic hazard, a towing service was called to remove the semi-tractor trailer from the area. ·        At approximately 6:06 a.m., Moore’s Towing arrived at the scene.  With the assistance of Toll Road Maintenance personnel, ISP Troopers shut down the roadway in order to facilitate removal of the semi-tractor trailer.  Troopers were advised that Toll Road Maintenance personnel were doing a rolling road block which caused traffic to come to a slowed stop. ·        At approximately 6:42 a.m., the semi-tractor trailer was removed from the median and the tow truck was preparing to leave the area. ·        Shortly thereafter, Toll Road Maintenance personnel opened the roadway, allowing traffic to move again. ·        At approximately 6:40 a.m., the fatal traffic crash involving Leonardo Cooksey occurred at the 102.8 mile marker. Fatal Traffic Crash Details The following is a summary of how the vehicles involved in this crash interacted with one another: (1)  Mr. Cooksey’s gray and maroon Volvo semi-tractor trailer first struck a black Ford Focus in the rear.  This caused the Ford Focus to rotate clockwise, forcing the Ford Focus into the north ditch.  This car was driven by Roger Lewis and he sustained minor injuries as a result of the crash.  Mr. Lewis has stated that he saw a vehicle approaching him from the rear and had begun to drive his vehicle off the roadway to the right when his car was struck from behind.   (2)  Cooksey’s Volvo semi-tractor then struck a maroon Ford F350 pick-up truck in the rear, causing the bed of the pick-up and rear seat to be pushed forward into the front seat.  The Ford F350 pick-up then struck a white Ford F250 pick-up that was in front of it and a green Jeep Grand Cherokee that was in front of the white Ford F250 pick-up.  The Ford F350 was then struck by the Volvo semi-tractor’s trailer and was pushed along the roadway until it came to final rest with the semi-tractor.  The driver of the Ford F350 pick-up, Wayne Lehman sustained serious bodily injury in the crash.  The passengers in the Ford F350, Samuel Yoder, Anthony Yoder, Lester Yoder, Merle Miller and Vernon Miller died as a result of injuries they sustained in the crash.   (3)  Ford F350 pick-up truck struck the rear of a white Ford F250 pick-up truck, causing the bed of the pick-up to be pushed forward, opening the driver’s side door.  The driver of this Ford F250 pick-up, Mark Repp, was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected out of the pick-up, landing on the north berm of the westbound lane. (4)  Ford F350 pick-up truck and Ford F250 pick-up truck struck a green Jeep Grand Cherokee that was in front of the Ford F250 pick-up. The green Jeep Grand Cherokee was pushed by these two (2) pick-up trucks under a trailer attached to a black Freightliner semi-tractor that was in front of the green Jeep Grand Cherokee. The driver of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Douglas George, and his passenger, Mary George died as a result of injuries they sustained in the crash.   (5)  Jeep Grand Cherokee that struck rear of black Freightliner semi-tractor trailer caused damage to the Freightliner trailer, but the driver of this semi sustained no injuries in the crash. Our standard for review is to determine whether Leonard Cooksey’s actions in this case were reckless; that is, whether he “engaged in conduct in plain, conscious, and unjustifiable disregard of harm that might result, and the disregard involved a substantial deviation from acceptable standards of conduct.”  While the results of this collision were horrific, we do not determine criminal liability based upon an aggravated result.  We must review the conduct leading to the result to determine if the conduct warrants a criminal prosecution.  Mr. Cooksey’s conduct was inattentive driving.  Not speeding.  Not driving while intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.  Inadvertence alone, while an indication of negligent conduct, does not rise to the level of criminal liability notwithstanding a catastrophic result.