LaGrange County police arrested Jeremy Rupkey Saturday night, charging him with causing a death while driving under the influence.
A police news release indicates Rupkey, 36, of LaGrange County, was driving a 2006 Town & Country van south on C.R. 500 East when he looked away from the road to pick up his cell phone from the front passenger seat.
Rupkey’s van then struck a horse-drawn cart operated by 12-year-old Jonathan Bontrager. The impact threw the boy from the cart. He was airlifted to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne where he died.
The accident occurred at 7:20 p.m.
As a result of police investigating the accident, Rupkey was arrested on an Operating While Intoxicated Causing Death charge, a Class C felony.
