Four adults have now been charged with supplying teens with alcohol ahead of a fatal car accident on Feb. 19 in Douglas County, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
One of the adults charged is the county’s chief code enforcement officer, Todd McAllister. McAllister’s home was the site of one of two parties the teens attended the evening of the wreck. Another charged was Rocky Patel, a local story owner who allegedly sold alcohol to the teens.
Also charged was Sherman Bennett, a 69-year-old grandfather of a teen attending one of the parties. Bennett admitted he bought beer and vodka for the minors, the Sheriff’s Office says.
The fourth adult was Dustin Willis, a 21-year-old who was a passenger in the wrecked vehicle. Law enforcement officials say Willis left the scene of the accident before emergency vehicles arrived.
Chief Deputy Stan Copeland told JJIE that his office believes Willis was the common thread that tied the evening together.
“Yes, we continue to believe Willis was the nexus in all of this,” he said.
Willis has been charged with vehicular homicide in the case, along with the driver of the crashed vehicle, Jason Lark, 17. Lark also faces DUI charges as well as a number of other traffic-related infractions including driving without a license.
Chief Copeland said he does not expect there to be additional arrests in the case.
“I think this is it,” he said. “I believe we tracked down everything and everybody involved in this tragic incident.”
The accident killed Cheyenne Sauls, 16, and left two other teens injured.