Michigan City Mayor charged with leaving the scene of an accident

LA PORTE COUNTY, Ind. -- Michigan City Mayor Duane Parry has been charged with one count of leaving the scene of an accident, a misdemeanor.

An Indiana State Police report says the mayor was driving his city-owned vehicle when it was involved in a crash on August 5 as he left an event at Washington Park.

Parry's vehicle ran over a hose bib, which dislodged the entire exhaust system from his SUV, reports said.

A Michigan City Police sergeant did a search to see if a crash report had been completed, but was unable to find one. The sergeant informed Chief Dion Campbell of the crash without a report.

The chief contacted the mayor and informed him a crash report should have been completed. He arranged for a sergeant to meet with the mayor at a local dealership where the vehicle was being repaired, reports said.

The mayor told the sergeant he left the event at approximately 9 p.m., failed to see the hose bib, and ran over it. The mayor stopped and removed the dislodged, damaged exhaust and left it on the ground,  and went home, reports said.

Mayor Parry said he planned to return for the exhaust the next day, but it wouldn't get in his vehicle. He said he didn't consider it a crash because he didn't hit another vehicle, reports said.

The mayor said he consumed a couple of beers with his meal at the event that night but was not intoxicated when he left, reports said.

After speaking with others who had reported witnessing the crash, the sergeant requested a second interview with the mayor.

The mayor was late to the meeting and said he was late because he wanted to review the sergeant's report first. The sergeant asked how the mayor obtained the report, but refused to say and ended the interview, according to the ISP report.

The report revealed the Michigan City Police Chief, Dion Campbell, emailed the report to the mayor's office and others in administration, per city procedure. However, since the mayor was involved in the crash, it created a conflict of interest. 

The sergeant, per the police report, believes this constitutes assisting a criminal. No charges have been filed against Chief Campbell, but he retired earlier this week.