By By JOHN EBY / Niles Daily Star
CASSOPOLIS -- Brian Bretschneider of Edwardsburg was arraigned Thursday in Cass County's Fourth District Court on a felony warrant issued Wednesday.
According to Cass County Prosecutor Victor A. Fitz, the two-count felony complaint charges Bretschneider with negligent homicide and felony driving.
The charges stem from a fatal crash Nov. 2, 2003, north of U.S. 12 on Conrad Road in Milton Township which claimed the life of Peter M. Strachan, 43, of Granger, Ind.
Strachan was a passenger in a pickup truck driven by Brian Matthew Smallbone, 37, of Dowagiac.
Bretschneider's bond was set at $20,000 personal recognizance.
A preliminary examination of the evidence is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12.
A statement released in November by Sheriff Joseph M. Underwood Jr. said investigation of the 6:30 p.m. crash showed a front-end loader driven by Bretschneider, 29, was backing up in the southbound lane, where Smallbone was traveling.
Smallbone's pickup truck could not avoid the front-end loader and collided head-on into its bucket in the southbound lane.
The crash also injured another passenger, Mathew Smallbone, 9, of Dowagiac.