A final pre-trial conference date was confirmed for Ruel Pedigo III, 49, of 1085 Jonesville Road, as he prepares to stand trial on three felony charges relating to the death of a former local man in a six-vehicle accident last year on Jonathan Moore Pike in Columbus.
The pre-trial conference is set for 9:30 a.m. April 25 in Bartholomew Circuit Court before Judge Kelly Benjamin. Pedigo’s trial date is set for 8:30 a.m. May 14 in Circuit court, according to court records.
Pedigo is accused of operating a vehicle with a controlled substance in the blood, a Level 4 felony; reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony; and causing serious bodily injury when operating a motor vehicle with a controlled substance in the blood, a Level 6 felony, court records state.
The charges stem from a multi-vehicle accident at 7:40 p.m. Jan. 27, 2018 in the eastbound lanes of Jonathan Moore Pike near Johnson Boulevard, involving as many as six vehicles.
Investigators said Pedigo was driving a Ford F650 tow truck with a vehicle on the flatbed when he rear-ended a Mazda 3 car driven by Patrick N. Bowman, 35, of Brown County, who died from injuries sustained in the crash. Bowman, who was originally from Columbus, graduated from Columbus North High School in 2001.
An adult passenger in Bowman’s car, Sarah Fliehman, also of Brown County, suffered a head injury.
A number of collisions occurred among vehicles in front of the Mazda after the tow truck hit it, accident reconstructionists said in court documents.
Pedigo did give a statement to Columbus police, saying he had just exited I-65 south and was heading east on Jonathan Moore Pike when an unidentified small black car changed from the left-turn lane to Pedigo’s lane. Pedigo told police he tried to brake, but slid, causing the accident, court documents state.
Pedigo told police he was going 25 to 30 mph when he hit the Mazda, which resulted in Bowman’s death. However, when investigators downloaded the airbag diagnostic sensing module in the tow truck, the data showed he was traveling between 37 and 40 mph in the seconds leading up to the crash and that he did not apply the brakes until about 1 second prior to impact with the Mazda, court documents state.
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
