Woman indicted in fatal crash

March 25, 2009 07:10 pm

— DELHI _ A 22-year-old Walton woman was arraigned Wednesday on charges stemming from a fatal motor vehicle accident that claimed the life of a Walton man Nov. 29.
Katherine M. Covell was charged in a sealed Delaware County grand jury indictment with second-degree vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated and driving with a blood alcohol content above .08 percent.
Covell was released on recognizance pending further court proceedings.
Alcohol and speed were factors in the crash that killed Frank Ruiz, 28, of Walton, the front-seat passenger who was declared dead at the scene, deputies said at the time.
Another passenger, Eduardo Torres, 21, of Walton, a passenger in the back seat, was taken to Delaware Valley Hospital, where he was treated for unspecified injuries and released, deputies said.
Delaware County District Attorney Richard Northrup requested a special prosecutor in the case, and Michael Breen of Middleburgh was appointed and presented the case to the grand jury. Northrup had said he knew too many of the people involved, including Covell, who took part in a New Visions law and government class that shadowed court officials.
The accident occurred on state Route 10, near what is known locally as ``Ice House'' turn. Covell appeared to have lost control of the vehicle, which struck the guardrail, spun around and hit several large trees before coming to rest over the guardrail against a tree on the east shoulder of the road above the river, deputies said previously.
The engine compartment caught fire.
The initial investigation revealed Covell had consumed alcohol before the accident and was traveling at a high rate of speed when she lost control of the vehicle, deputies said.
Covell was giving Ruiz and Torres a ride to their home, not far from where the accident happened. They had been in Walton, probably socializing, deputies said.