Swihart Receives 8-Year Prison Sentence After Hit-And-Run Accident Involving Amish Buggy
By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews
Kevin Alan Swihart
WARSAW — A Peru man will serve eight years in prison after leaving the scene of a serious vehicle accident involving an Amish buggy.
Kevin Alan Swihart, 32, Peru, was charged with failure to stop after an accident resulting in injury, a level 3 felony; operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury, a level 5 felony; and a habitual vehicular substance offender enhancement.
Swihart was sentenced in Kosciusko Superior Court One on Thursday, March 23.
For failure to stop after an accident resulting in injury, Kosciusko Superior Court One Judge Karin McGrath sentenced Swihart to nine years in the Indiana Department of Correction, with six years executed and three years suspended on probation. She also gave Swihart a three-year DOC sentence for operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury. Both of these counts will be served concurrently, or at the same time.
An additional two years were added to Swihart’s executed sentence through the habitual vehicular substance offender enhancement.
In total, Swihart received an 11-year sentence, with eight years in prison and three years on probation. Swihart’s driver’s license was also suspended for 11 years.
At sentencing, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Sobek described the case as “a rare situation where the state no longer cares about rehab (for the defendant),” noting Swihart’s two prior OWI convictions.
“He needs to be removed from society for the benefit of others for the longest amount of time possible,” said Sobek.
Sobek requested McGrath give Swihart an eight-year executed sentence, the maximum allowed in Swihart’s plea agreement.
Defense Attorney Isaiah Vanderpool said Swihart’s criminal history is solely OWIs, with the latest instance being from 2014. He requested four years executed and four years on probation as a sentence, noting Swihart’s acceptance into the Kosciusko County work release program.
“He isn’t a bad guy, he’s dealing with substance abuse issues,” said Vanderpool. “He isn’t a lost cause by any means.”
Vanderpool said Swihart has lived with what he’s done ever since the accident.
“I know there is nothing I can do to change what I did,” said Swihart, apologizing for his actions and the harm he caused to the two people who were in the buggy.
“This is your third OWI, and one with injury and leaving the scene?” said McGrath. “That’s horrifying and frightening. Mr. Swihart, I don’t think you’re a lost cause, but I have not seen any evidence of rehab on your own time. I’d rather have you in the community sober but right now that’s not the time.”
On Dec. 3, 2021, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to an accident involving a black Nissan pickup truck and a horse-drawn buggy on SR 19, near Nappanee. The truck driver left the scene. The operator of the buggy, Wayne Hochstetler, Milford, was treated at the scene for abrasions and lacerations. A girl in the buggy sustained significant bruising to her neck and was airlifted from the accident.
About an hour after the accident, Swihart was found in Fulton County driving a Nissan pickup truck with heavy front-end damage. Swihart was found to be operating while intoxicated at the time.
Related Article
