Dowagiac man charged for fatal vehicle accident

Published 10:18 am Wednesday, December 2, 2015

A Dowagiac man is in custody in Berrien County, after police say he killed a Benton Harbor man in a fatal drunk driving accident on I-94 Saturday, according to information from the Michigan State Police.

Bo Parsons, 24, was arraigned in Berrien County Court Monday, where he was charged with a count of operating while intoxicated causing death and a count of operating with a high blood alcohol level, according to the Berrien County Prosecutor’s office. He is currently in custody in the Berrien County Jail, where he is held on $15,000 bail.

According to a release from the Michigan State Police Niles post, the fatal accident occurred around 8:51 p.m., after officers with the post received a complaint about a possible drunk driver, operating a light colored Mercury Grand Marquis, who was traveling eastbound on I-94 near Niles Road. The vehicle was described as traveling on the shoulder of the roadway, driving from 30 to 80 mph.

Before state troopers could locate the vehicle, the Mercury struck another vehicle that was stopped on shoulder of the freeway, near I-196 in Benton Township. The lone occupant of the vehicle, 21-year-old Devante Fisher, of Benton Harbor, died as a result of the collision.

Parsons, the driver of the Mercury, was arrested and lodged at Berrien County Jail.

The state police are continuing to investigate the accident.