Driver Blamed For Michigan Trooper's Traffic Death To Face Trial
CLARKSTON (WWJ/AP) - A man charged in the death of a state trooper who was dragged for miles in Oakland County will stand trial on felony charges.
Judge Kelley Kostin says charges against 70-year-old Charles Warren Jr. will stick. He was pulling a trailer when Trooper Chad Wolf was struck while riding a motorcycle last August.
Warren is charged with reckless driving causing death and failure to stop at an accident. The judge noted the testimony of witnesses who said sparks from the collision "lit up the sky."
On Twitter, defense attorney Neil Rockind called the judge's decision one of the "worst" in his 23 years as a lawyer. In court Wednesday, Rockind said facts don't show that Warren cut off the trooper.
Wolf's funeral in Fenton last summer attracted thousands of people.
According to investigators, Wolf was on patrol Aug. 28 on Dixie Highway and I-75 in Springfield Township when Warren's car, which was towing a trailer collided, with his motorcycle. Police say 38-year-old Wolf was snatched from the motorcycle, trapped beneath the trailer and dragged several miles before Warren pulled into a freeway rest area.
Warren faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
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