PORTLAND, IN — A Jay County man who had been charged in a May 2024 accident that claimed the life of his father-in-law has been convicted of a lesser charge.
Terry David Emerick, now 50, of Pennville, was charged in Jay Superior Court with causing death when driving while intoxicated, a Level 4 felony carrying up to 12 years in prison.
According to a report filed by Jay County sheriff’s deputies, Emerick on the evening of May 4, 2024, was driving a Polaris Ranger on Division Road when he made a turn onto Jay County Road 200 East.
At that point, deputies said, 68-year-old Robert H. Langenkamp Jr. of Portland — Emerick’s passenger and father-in-law — fell out of the Ranger and was critically injured. Langenkamp died a day later in a Fort Wayne hospital.
In recent weeks, a Jay Superior Court jury found Emerick guilty of a lesser charge: driving while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor carrying up to 180 days in jail.
Judge Gail Dues imposed a 60-day sentence. The Pennville man received credit for two days already spent in the Jay County Jail.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Jay County man charged in fatal accident convicted of lesser count
Reporting by Star Press, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
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By Star Press, Muncie Star Press | USA TODAY Network
