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Thursday, Oct. 31
The Indiana Daily Student

Driver refuses plea bargain

Could serve 25-50 years in prison if convicted

The man charged with crashing his car into and killing IU alumnus Kate Comiskey rejected a plea deal from the Monroe County Prosecutors Office Tuesday. \nBryan "Mitch" Gooldy would have spent between 20 and 40 years in jail -- depending on good behavior -- if he had accepted the deal, but now if convicted on the charge of operating while intoxicated causing death he could face 25 to 50 years in jail. The trial is set to begin Oct. 24.\nAn Indiana law, called "class one credit time," states a prisoner in a jail acting with good behavior receives two days of credit for every day served.\nStuart Baggerly, the public defender representing Gooldy, said he is hoping for a complete acquittal from the trial. \n"Just looking at the overall totality of the circumstances, we talked about it a lot and he figured he was just as well off going to trial and see what the jury thinks about it," he said.\nAmy Travis, the prosecutor for the case, said she cannot comment on the details of the case because of various ethical rules she is bound by in Indiana.\n"I'm truly hoping (the prosecuting attorney's office) is able to bring the case to a successful conclusion in October of this year so the family is allowed to have some closure," she said. \nNancy Comiskey, Kate's mother, and her husband, Steve, said by e-mail they would not comment further on the case and referred all questions to their family attorney, Rick Dyar. Dyar also declined comment. \nAt 7:05 a.m. on Nov. 9, Comiskey was northbound on North Walnut when police say Gooldy, driving in the opposite direction, crossed the center line causing a head on collision. Comiskey was pronounced dead at Bloomington Hospital as a result of injuries from the crash. Before the accident, a motorist had contacted authorities about a car, later determined to be Gooldy's, driving erratically on Indiana Highway 37. Police were dispatched to locate the vehicle but couldn't before the accident.\nAccording to police reports a blood sample taken from Gooldy tested positive for cocaine, opiates and depressants. \nThere has been a tragic chain of events of those involved in this case, Baggerly said.\n"It is a very emotional case. Mr. Gooldy feels terrible about this accident and that Miss Comiskey is dead," he said. "He is a person who has had trouble in his life and didn't wish ill on anyone."\nKate Comiskey was an alumna of IU and was a teacher at Indian Creek High School in Trafalgar, Ind. She was 24 when she died.

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