This from the Enquirer:FALMOUTH - A Pendleton County grand jury declined this morning to indict a man accused of causing a wreck that killed a teenage boy in May.
"In regard to the events of May 1, 2008 regarding the accident on Kentucky Route 22 resulting in the tragic death of Daniel Wood, a student at Pendleton County High School, the grand jury finds that while the accident had to have been the result of negligence, based on the evidence available at this time, the grand jury has elected to return a no true bill," the grand jury wrote.
Doug Wright, Commonwealth's Attorney for Pendleton County, said the grand jury had been asked to consider the charge of reckless homicide. But that would not have barred the jury from indicting Francisco Yulfo on other charges, he said.
Wright said prosecutors presented all the information they had in the case. One witness was called; Pendleton County Sheriff Craig Peoples testified about the investigation into the crash, including blood tests done on both drivers and the results of the accident reconstruction.
Peoples said the final investigation report indicated Yulfo was traveling within the legal speed limit, which is 55 mph. The suggested speed limit at the site of the crash, a sharp curve in the road, is 35 mph - but that's an advisory speed, not the legal limit.
Yulfo was driving a dump truck that crossed the center line of Ky. 22 west around 7 a.m. May 1. The truck struck a school bus carrying about a dozen students. Daniel Wood, 16, was killed instantly.
An attorney for Yulfo could not immediately be reached for comment.Wood's family has filed a civil lawsuit against Yulfo and his employer, XXL Trucking in West Liberty, Ky.
The lawsuit alleges negligence by both parties, who have filed motions to dismiss the case.
Wood's family is also lobbying the state to make improvements to Ky. 22 west, a curvy two-lane road that residents of the area say can be dangerous, especially with increased construction traffic in recent years. Yulfo was carrying a load of rock to a construction site in Grant County at the time of the crash.
Returning a no true bill is not the same as dismissing the case, so the case could be presented to a grand jury at a later date if new information comes to light. There is no statute of limitation on felonies. But Peoples said the case is now considered closed.
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