SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) – The son of Mishawaka’s mayor has been charged with misdemeanor OWI after he was arrested on suspicion of driving drunk in connection to a crash this past weekend in South Bend.
The crash happened around 8 p.m. Saturday in the 900 block of Frances Street. Joseph Wood, 22, was taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries but was later booked into the St. Joseph County Jail. He was released five hours later.
On Tuesday, the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office formally charged Wood with operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, which is a Class A misdemeanor.
According to charging documents, officers who were called to the scene of the crash found a GMC Sierra flipped onto the driver’s side. There was also damage to two parked vehicles along the street, with one of them being pushed into an AEP pole from the impact.
A witness on scene reportedly told officers that the Sierra GMC was “barreling through” the intersection of Howard Street and Frances Street as it was headed south on Frances. The witness told officers that the GMC did not stop at the stop sign on Frances and was traveling at least 40 mph in a 30-mph zone.
The witness then said he heard a boom and saw the utility pole shaking. As the witness approached the scene of the crash, he noticed a cooler that was now in the street. Officers later determined that the cooler contained alcoholic beverages. The witness told police that the driver of the Sierra GMC, later identified as Wood, acknowledged that the cooler was his.
Officers spoke with Wood, who admitted he was the driver. While speaking with Wood, officers reported that he had red and watery eyes.
According to charging documents, Wood initially said that he drank one beer, then later said that he had consumed two beers at 1 p.m. that day. He then allegedly told police that mechanical difficulties and a hump in the roadway’s surface caused the crash.
Police say Wood was the only person injured in the crash. He was taken to the hospital to be treated for several scrapes and cuts on his body, including his head.
When officers met with Wood further, they say they allegedly smelled an odor of alcoholic beverages coming from him. Officers attempted a Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test on Wood, but he allegedly claimed to have debris in his eyes from the crash.
Officers then breathalyzed Wood, who initially had trouble providing a valid breath sample. Once he provided a sufficient breath sample, his BAC was reportedly .15%.
Wood then reportedly admitted to having had more alcohol that day and made statements such as “I was drunk” and “I knew I was over the limit.”
Toxicology results are pending for Wood. He has been ordered to return to court on Nov. 20. You can read the probable cause affidavit in its entirety at the bottom of this story.
Wood, the son of Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood, was the center of controversy after he was suspected of driving drunk during a traffic stop nearly a year ago but was instead given a ride home from police.
Wood was stopped on Oct. 28, 2022, at E. Mishawaka Avenue and Indiana Avenue. In video obtained from police by a 16 News Now Investigates public records request, police say they pulled Wood over for speeding, not using a turn signal, and having an expired plate. Despite an officer being heard on body camera audio saying that Wood smelled of alcohol and was stumbling, no field sobriety test, breathalyzer, or chemical tests were completed.
Wood repeatedly asked officers on scene for Capt. Eric Beckham. When Beckham arrived, he asked the officers to leave before taking Wood to his father’s home.
An administrative review of Beckham’s response to the October 2022 traffic stop found “no substantive criminal law was broken or violated.” Beckham took a voluntary demotion with the Mishawaka Police Department, but it was never confirmed if that demotion had anything to do with the incident.
You can reach the probable cause affidavit in its entirety below:
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