BY SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BURLINGTON -- The aftershock of a fatal car crash spilled into Boone District Court on Tuesday afternoon, when Mary Lynn Lampke and her 23-month-old son, David, appeared for the preliminary hearing of Nicholas Roeper.
Mr. Roeper, 18, of Ohio 32 in Amelia, faces a murder charge in the Oct. 7 crash that resulted in the death of John Lampke II, 30, of Florence.
Mr. Lampke was driving his son to a baby sitter on his way to work when the crash happened at 7:42 a.m. at U.S. 42 and Fairview Drive. The child, in a safety seat in the front passenger seat of Mr. Lampke's 1989 Toyota Celica, suffered a broken leg.
Mr. Roeper, a self-employed carpenter, had minor injuries and was using crutches when he made his court appearance.
He also faces a count of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and other substances, and a count of first-degree wanton endangerment.
But the preliminary hearing never happened.
It was rescheduled for 1 p.m. Friday after attorney Burr Travis said there was a conflict of interest and Boone District Judge Michael Collins agreed.
Mr. Travis' law partner, Wilbur Zevely, had been retained by Mr. Roeper, but too many attorneys and staff members at the law firm know the Lampke family, Mr. Travis said.
Mrs. Lampke was in tears afterward.
She and Mr. Lampke's mother declined comment, saying it's still too soon to talk about their loved one's death. Paul Fiser, the attorney who will represent the widow in a civil lawsuit against Mr. Roeper, spoke on her behalf.
He said he met Mr. Lampke about eight years ago, when both joined a bowling team and struck up a friendship.
"He was a very good friend of mine," Mr. Fiser said. "He was a very good person. He had a strong sense of modesty and decency. He adored his wife and son."
Mr. Fiser noted that David Lampke, with brown hair and green eyes, has his father's facial features.
The investigation into the car crash is continuing. Mr. Roeper was westbound on U.S. 42 when, witnesses told police, he ran a red traffic light at Farmview Drive and broadsided Mr. Lampke, who attempted to enter the intersection from southbound Farmview.
The wreck is similar to an Aug. 29 crash where Jose Malagon-Soto, 24, of Dry Ridge is accused of murder and drunken driving in the death of a Walton man. He also was charged with driving under the influence and with five counts of wanton endangerment.
The fact that murder charges have been filed in two car crashes in the past two months does not signify a stronger stance against alleged drunken drivers, said Boone County Attorney Larry Crigler. It's just coincidence that the incidents are so close in time to one another and that both involved someone who died because of another's decision to get behind the wheel after using drugs or alcohol, Mr. Crigler said.
"We just think the circumstances of both of these incidents fit," he said.
Kentucky has no vehicular homicide law. Ohio has two laws -- one a misdemeanor, and another a felony, aggravated vehicular homicide, which can carry up to five years in prison.
That leaves commonwealth prosecutors to use non-vehicular charges, such as murder, manslaughter and reckless homicide.
