Maryland Bishop Charged with Manslaughter in Alleged Hit-and-run

By Scott Calvert
Wall Street Journal
January 9, 2015

http://www.wsj.com/articles/maryland-bishop-to-face-manslaughter-charges-in-alleged-hit-and-run-1420823350

BALTIMORE—The No. 2 leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland was charged Friday with vehicular manslaughter and several other charges in the death of a bicyclist in Baltimore two days after Christmas, the city’s chief prosecutor announced.

State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby alleged Bishop Heather Cook, 58 years old, was texting when her Subaru rear-ended Thomas Palermo, a 41-year-old father of two, as he rode in a bike lane in North Baltimore. Ms. Cook’s blood-alcohol level tested at 0.22 after the afternoon accident, Ms. Mosby said at a news conference Friday.

Ms. Cook left the scene and drove past it again about 30 minutes later, but continued to her nearby residence, Ms. Mosby said. Shortly after arriving home, Ms. Cook went back to the accident scene and was taken to a police station. Among the other charges she faces is driving under the influence resulting in a homicide.

Ms. Mosby was asked by reporters why it took nearly two weeks to make a decision on charging Ms. Cook, given the breath test results. “We had to conduct a thorough investigation and that was done rather expeditiously,” she said. Ms. Mosby was sworn in as prosecutor on Thursday after being elected in November.