By Jackie Gorski
Times-Union
WARSAW — A Warsaw man was arrested Thursday after a vehicle accident in August that claimed the life of a bicyclist.
Jonathan Walter Davis, 25, of 602 S. McClellan St., Warsaw, was arrested and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10 for operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death, a level 4 felony. His bond was set at $36,000.
His initial hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Oct. 31
According to the affidavit of probable cause filed Sept. 16 in Kosciusko Circuit Court, at 7:55 p.m. Aug. 8 Kosciusko County emergency personnel were dispatched to the area of SR 19 and West CR 1100N for a crash between a vehicle and bicycle.
When Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Justin Smith arrived, he saw a red Chevrolet Blazer with extensive front-end damage facing north along the eastern edge of the road. Smith then saw a dead man lying along the east side of the road, along with a heavily damaged bicycle.
The Kosciusko County coroner identified the deceased man as Aaron E. Miller. Miller’s injuries included severe head trauma and minor bruising on his right left.
The driver of the Blazer was identified as Davis, who stated he was traveling north on North Ind. 19 when he saw the flashing light on the rear of Miller’s bicycle, which was traveling in the same lane as Davis, according to court documents. Davis said that as he got closer to the bicycle, he “blacked out.” He said when he regained consciousness, his vehicle hit Miller.
A KCSO deputy previously read Davis the Indiana implied consent for serious bodily injury, or fatal crash, and Davis consented to a chemical test.
The deputy took Davis to Lutheran Kosciusko Hospital for a consensual blood draw.
About a week after the accident, according to the affidavit, another KCSO deputy received video of the crash provided by homeowners on Ind. 19. The video shows Miller riding his bicycle north on Ind. 19 in front of the home when he was hit from the rear by Davis’s Blazer.
On Sept. 3, Smith received blood results for Davis, whose blood tested positive for methamphetamine (448.91 ng/ml) and marijuana (3.93 ng/ml).
