Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Thursday, March 20, 2014
(BROWNSTOWN) - A Jackson County man received a seven-year sentence Wednesday in Jackson Circuit Court in connection with the drowning death of a Seymour teen in December 2012.
19-year-old Tyler Joseph Ross of Seymour received his sentence from Senior Judge Bill Vance after he accepted Ross' plea agreement on a charge of causing death when operating a motor vehicle with a Schedule I or II controlled substance in the blood in connection with the death of 16-year-old Brooke Elizabeth Hawn.
Vance suspended one year of that sentence and gave Ross 469 days credit and 469 days credit time for time already spent in jail.
Ross was arrested on initial charges of reckless homicide, false informing and operating while never licensed on December 5, 2012, after a crash led to the death of Brooke Elizabeth Hawn.
According to Jackson County Coroner Roger Wheeler, Hawn, whose body was found in a car after being pulled from White River, died from a combination of trauma, hypothermia and freshwater drowning.
Police say Hawn was not wearing a seat belt during the incident.
According to the findings of the Sheriff's Department investigators, excessive speed and reckless driving were key contributing factors in the accident.
Ross told police he was behind the wheel when the Mitsubishi two-door car he and two other teens were in flipped into the East Fork of the White River northeast of the Shieldstown Covered Bridge.
Ross and a 19-year old man escaped through broken windows after the crash.
Hawn, of Seymour, was found dead inside the car after it was towed from the water.
1340 AM WBIW welcomes comments and suggestions by calling 812.277.1340 during normal business hours or by email at comments@wbiw.com
© Ad-Venture Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.