Father of Amish teens who say wagon deliberately hit by drunk driver speaks with WSBT

October 01, 2012|By Denise Bohn (dbohn@wsbt.com) | WSBT-TV

Francisco Javier Gonzalez, 24, of Warsaw (2011 booking photo courtesy of Kosciusko Co. Sheriff's Dept.)

WARSAW – The teenagers riding on an Amish wagon hit by a drunk driver this weekend says he hit them intentionally.

The horse pulling that wagon was killed in that crash in Warsaw.

It happened just before 11 p.m. Saturday night on Shelden Street near WalMart, just north of U.S. 30.

Police says 24-year old Francisco Gonzalez of Warsaw was driving the car that hit the horse and wagon and left the scene.

Large blood stains covered the street.

Reporter Stacey Page, who has an online news service, StaceyPageOnline.com, took pictures just after the crash.

"When I walked up, I stopped dead in my tracks, because here was this horse and it was kind of a really gruesome scene."

The horse, a 6-year old mare named Jenny, was hit with such force it nearly split her in two.

The wagon was damaged and the five boys riding in it were thrown off.

Floyd Miller, the father of the 17-year-old who was driving the buggy, picked up what was left of it Monday afternoon at a tow service.

He says the boys are okay but very shook up.

"They had bangs and bruises and scrapes and small cuts, but nothing serious. Scared? Yes, really bad," added Miller.

Badly scared because Miller says the boys claim the driver hit them intentionally.

"They said the driver passed them from behind and made a U-turn and came toward them and cranked over and revved the engine up and ran right in the front of them," explained Miller, who says his son and some friends were going to Walmart when they were hit.

Police say after the crash, Gonzalez drove off. They found him several miles away at the intersection off of U.S. 30 and 200 West.

Bleeding and covered in horse blood, he was taken to a hospital in Fort Wayne where tests revealed he had a .17 blood alcohol level.

Hospital staff inadvertently let him go instead of turning him over to police.

People have been leaving flowers at the blood-stained scene where many in the community are searching for answers as to why an innocent animal and a group of young boys became targets.

Page says Walmart officials at the scene Saturday night told police surveillance cameras outside their store, located near the crash, captured the entire thing on video.

Gonzalez was arrested in July 2011 for refusing to identify himself to police and has also gotten in trouble for ignoring traffic signals.

WSBT News attempted several times Monday to talk with Warsaw Police to get an update on the search for Gonzalez, but our calls were not returned.

|

|

|