Wednesday, February 02, 2000
Driver owns up to plowing into Oktoberfest crowd
BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Ever since he drove his car through a crowd during Oktoberfest, Michael Cowperthwaite has told his lawyer he just wanted to admit his crime and go to prison.
He got his chance Tuesday when he pleaded guilty to all charges.
Mr. Cowperthwaite, 25, pleaded to the 18 charges against him even though he claims not to remember the events because he was so intoxicated.
He will face between six months and 48 years in prison when he returns to Hamilton County Common Pleas Court on March 2.
“He is mortified he caused this kind of damage,” said Mr. Cowperthwaite's lawyer, Scott Croswell. “From the moment I met him, he wanted to plead guilty and go to prison.”
Prosecutors and police say Mr. Cowperthwaite's crime began around 8 p.m. on Sept.19.
They say officers noticed him parked on Walnut Street, revving the engine of his 1989 Chevrolet Beretta. As officers approached, they say, Mr. Cowperthwaite sped away.
They say he ignored police warnings — and in one case struck a police officer — as he turned down Main Street into a crowd gathered for Oktoberfest, Cincinnati's annual street festival. Assistant County Prosecutor Gerald Krumpelbeck said several people “went airborne” after being struck by the car, while at least two others broke off windshield wipers and an antenna trying to hang on to the hood.
All told, Mr. Krumpelbeck said, 23 people were hurt. He said more than a dozen still suffer from injuries ranging from a severely broken leg to nerve damage in a hand.
When he was arrested, prosecutors say, Mr. Cowperthwaite's blood-alcohol level registered at more than twice the legal limit.
“Obviously, he became highly intoxicated,” Mr. Croswell said. “It was just a blur to him.”
Although Mr. Cowperthwaite pleaded guilty to all charges — including aggravated vehicular assault, felonious assault and inducing panic — he did not make a sentencing deal with prosecutors.
That means he faces a maximum sentence of 48 years. He also could be sentenced to six months if Judge Richard Niehaus imposes the minimum.
Mr. Cowperthwaite, of Union Township in Clermont County, did not speak at the court hearing Tuesday except to tell the judge he understood his possible sentences.
Mr. Krumpelbeck said many of the victims will attend the sentencing and will ask for the maximum penalty.
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