A Maryland Episcopal Bishop Suffragan has been indicted on 13 counts connected to a fatal hit-and-run accident last year.
Heather Cook was indicted by a Baltimore-based grand jury on charges including “driving while under the influence of alcohol per se …, driving under the impairment of alcohol, texting while driving, reckless driving and negligent driving.”
“The original criminal charges included manslaughter by vehicle, criminal negligent manslaughter by vehicle, homicide by driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol per se and homicide by driving a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol,” reported Mary Schjonberg of Episcopal News Service.
Cook is accused of killing 41-year-old Thomas Palermo after she hit the cyclist while driving drunk. She then fled the scene but was chased down by other cyclists and brought back to the crash site.
Witnesses say there’s no way Cook didn’t know she struck someone.
“The windshield was completely smashed in, with a hole on the passenger side, and from the damage of the car, there was no doubt in my mind that was the car,” said a witness to the AP.
Episcopal church officials have asked Cook to resign.
The first female Episcopal bishop in Maryland has been implicated in a hit-and-run accident that killed a father of two.
Baltimore Police say that officers were called to the “5700 block of Roland Avenue” for a reported car accident Saturday December 27, 2014 around 2:37 p.m.
The police found Thomas Palermo, 41, injured but still alive. He died after bring rushed to Sinai Hospital. Palermo was riding his bicycle with other enthusiasts at the time of the accident. Those cyclists followed the vehicle that struck Palermo and fled the scene until they stopped 58-year-old Bishop Heather Cook.
Diocesan Bishop Eugene Sutton e-mailed members of the clergy to say that Cook then went back to the scene to accept her responsibility in the accident.
“Together with the Diocese of Maryland, I express my deep sorrow over the death of the cyclist and offer my condolences to the victim’s family,” said Bishop Sutton.”Please pray for Mr Palermo, his family and Bishop Cook during this most difficult time.”
Cyclists in the region have been outraged that no charges have yet been filed against Cook. Over 1,700 people have joined a Facebook page campaign calling for police to charge Cook with homicide.