Widow angry no charges were filed in April toll road crash that killed 8

ELKHART, Ind. – A Michigan woman whose husband was one of eight people killed when a semitrailer slammed into stopped traffic on the Indiana Toll Road is outraged that no charges will be filed against the truck driver.\n"How can you kill eight people and nothing happen?" said Michele Repp of Sturgis, whose husband, Mark Repp, was killed. "I think he should be held responsible."\nThe semi driver, Leonardo Cooksey, 32, of Mount Prospect, Ill., told state police that he was distracted when his cell phone beeped that the battery was low. He was trying to plug it in and didn't see traffic stopped on the highway before the April 26 crash, Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis T. Hill Jr. said at a news conference Tuesday.\n"Inadvertence alone, while an indication of negligent conduct, does not rise to the level of criminal liability, notwithstanding a catastrophic result," Hill said.\nA message seeking comment was left Tuesday for Cooksey at his home. A message also was left for a spokesman at New England Motor Freight of Elizabeth, N.J., where the truck was registered.\nRepp, who has four children ages 6 through 21, said she does not understand why Hill did not file charges, since Cooksey told police he wasn't paying attention as he traveled the northern Indiana east-west tollway, which also is Interstates 80 and 90.\n"Why are so many states making laws that you cannot be on the cell phone while driving? Because of this reason alone," she said.\nHill said he had not talked to family members of those killed about his decision, but he knew some would be upset.\n"We have family members out here who want to be able to say ‘Uh-huh, that's why it happened,’ and they don't want to accept that it was an accident – and it was an accident with horrific results," he said.\nHill said Cooksey's actions aren't a crime in Indiana.\n"In Indiana, we don't have negligent homicide, so mere negligence is not going to sustain a criminal accusation," he said.\nHe said if there were extenuating circumstances – such as if Cooksey was driving under the influence, speeding, in a construction zone or if he had driven too many hours – he might have arrived at a different conclusion.\nCooksey was traveling 62 mph in a 65 mph zone at the time of the crash about 25 miles east of South Bend near Bristol. He was eight-tenths of a mile from the start of the construction zone, was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs and had been on the road for less than three hours when the accident occurred, Hill said.\n"Inadvertence on its own is something people do all the time. It's basically a human flaw," he said.\nTwo of the vehicles were crushed beyond recognition – a pickup truck carrying six people, five of whom died, and a Jeep Cherokee in which two were killed. Mark Repp was the driver of another pickup truck that was knocked off the road. He was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the pickup, Hill said.\nAlso killed were Douglas and Mary Helen George of Springfield, N.H., who were in the Cherokee, and Merle Miller, 44, of Ligonier; Lester Yoder, 36, of Topeka; and Vernon Miller, 38; Samuel Yoder, 46, and his son, Anthony Yoder, 17, all of Wolcottville, who were in another pickup.\nRepp said she plans to talk to a lawyer about a possible lawsuit.\n"Because something has to happen," she said.