Crash suspect trial delayed

The supposed last pre-trial conference for Meliton Praxidis, who is accused of fleeing the scene of an accident killing student Ashley Crouse April 11, convened Tuesday morning after an earlier delay last month. But a Monroe County Circuit Court judge scheduled another final meeting -- for the second time -- to Nov. 11 because of a pre-trial, pre-sentence investigation.\nA pre-sentence investigation occurs before a trial when one or both counsels believe a possible criminal record could have mitigating factors. Investigators research whether the suspect has had previous convictions in other counties and states. \nDelays allow counsels the time to recover information needed before they make any final decisions. Praxidis' criminal conviction record, if he has one, would be withheld by the court as confidential. \nThe court decided Tuesday to remand Praxidis to the Monroe County Sheriff on a $50,000 surety bond, said a Monroe County clerk. \nU.S. Marshals arrested Praxidis April 15 in New Castle County, Del., on Class C felony charges for fleeing the scene of a vehicular accident. \nBecause Praxidis did not have a driver's license or valid form of identification, it took the marshals several days to locate the suspect because he had assumed multiple aliases. \nAfter the IU Police Department obtained an eyewitness sketch of the suspect, New Castle police matched a photograph with the IUPD artist's rendering. \nPraxidis could now face two to eight years in prison if convicted of the charges. \nAccording to police reports, Crouse, student Christopher Carlson and student Julie Greenbaum entered the intersection at Hawthorne Drive and Third Street the night of April 11 when a gray Honda station wagon, allegedly driven by Praxidis, struck their red Jeep. The vehicles both skidded into the Kappa Kappa Gamma house lawn, the sorority where Crouse was a member. \nAt the intersection, the students' Jeep had a flashing red traffic light while the station wagon had a yellow flashing light. \nPraxidis allegedly fled on foot before police arrived at the scene. \nPolice reports state Crouse, who was in the back seat of the vehicle, landed five feet from the vehicle after the impact. She was the only passenger not wearing a seat belt, according to the reports.