Trial Begins For Man Accused Of Killing Girl With Truck
VALPARAISO, Ind. (STMW) - Jury selection begins Monday morning in the trial of a man accused of killing a 9-year-old girl in Portage by running her over.
Richard Warren McCall, 31, of Portage, faces up to eight years in prison if found guilty of reckless homicide, the highest felony charge he faces.
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He has also been charged with felony criminal recklessness and the misdemeanors of criminal recklessness with a motor vehicle and reckless driving.
Porter Superior Court Judge William Alexa has cleared his usual morning court call and could hear opening statements as soon as the jury is chosen, his staff said.
The incident happened about 5:30 p.m. in February 2009.
The girl, Lisa Miller, was playing with three other children around an unoccupied house that McCall owned in the 5200 block of Concord Avenue.
McCall told police someone called while he was visiting a friend in Lake Station and told him that the children might be damaging the house, so he rushed there to catch the kids.
Court documents state that McCall sped up when he saw the four children near the house in an attempt to scare them, and they scattered.
However, the truck slid when he tried to turn into the driveway, McCall lost control of the vehicle and the truck left the road and hit Miller.
It then hit the house and returned to the road, trapping Miller under the truck until neighbors removed her. McCall made the call to police.
Miller was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:51 p.m., the result of head trauma.
McCall allegedly had several drinks during the day after getting off a swing shift. However, a breath test at the scene showed his blood-alcohol level was 0.03 percent, well below the legal definition for drunken driving.
The girl's parents, James and Lisa Miller, have since filed a civil suit against McCall.
