Fatal crash suspect arraigned

The suspect involved in last month’s two-vehicle crash that killed two Indiana women in White Pigeon Township was arraigned Thursday.

Harley Jay Bontrager, 19, appeared with his attorney, Jessica LaFond, before District Court Judge Jeff Middleton.

Bontrager, who is free on $40,000 cash/surety bond, is charged with two counts of operating while intoxicated causing the deaths of 29-year-old Rosalie M. Yoder and 27-year-old Marcia Ann Miller.

Both women were from Shipshewana.

During Thursday’s 11-minute proceeding, Middleton explained Bontrager has the right to a preliminary examination, a legal proceeding in which a hearing is staged to determine probable cause that a crime was committed and, in this case, probable cause that Bontrager was responsible.

A pre-exam conference is typically conducted before a preliminary examination. Middleton set the pre-exam for 8:30 a.m. Aug. 1 and the preliminary examination, if necessary, for 1 p.m. Aug. 8.

It is alleged that on June 30, Bontrager was behind the wheel of an Escalade heading west on Indian Prairie Road when it attempted to pass a Chevy Cobalt while in a no-passing zone. Authorities said Bontrager possibly misjudged his clearance from the car and his vehicle struck the Cobalt, sending it off the roadway.