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Last updated on Monday, February 3, 2014
(BROWNSTOWN) - The sentencing hearing for a Jackson County man who recently pleaded guilty in the death of a Seymour teen has been set for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
19-year-old Tyler Joseph Ross was originally scheduled to be sentenced January 22 on a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a schedule I or II controlled substance in the blood resulting in death.
The Class C Felony is punishable by two to eight years in prison. The hearing was delayed after Chief Deputy Prosecutor Jeff Chalfant opted to withdraw the plea agreement on the day of the hearing.
Ross was arrested on initial charges of reckless homicide, false informing and operating while never licensed on December 5, 2012, after a crash led to the death of 16-year-old Brooke Elizabeth Hawn.
According to Jackson County Coroner Roger Wheeler says Hawn, whose body was found in a car after being pulled from White River, died from a combination of trauma, hypothermia and freshwater drowning.
Police say Hawn was not wearing a seat belt.
According to the findings of the Sheriff's Department investigators, excessive speed and reckless driving were key contributing factors in the accident.
Ross told police he was behind the wheel when the Mitsubishi two-door car he and two other teens were in flipped into the East ForkWhite River northeast of the Shieldstown Covered Bridge.
Ross and a 19-year old man escaped through broken windows after the crash. Hawn, of Seymour, was found dead inside the car after it was towed from the water.
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