Mishawaka Mayor’s son charged with misdemeanor for operating while intoxicated
UPDATE: Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024 was meant to be a dispositional hearing in Joseph Wood's case, but Wood's lawyers filed a plea agreement, and the judge issued the sentence the same day.
For pleading guilty to Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated, Wood was sentenced to 365 days, suspended 365 days. That translates into Wood having to be on probation for one year.
ORIGINAL: ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. - Joseph Wood, the son of Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood, has been charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly driving while under the influence on Saturday, according to the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office.
Around 8 p.m. on Saturday, the South Bend Police Department was called to the intersection of Howard and Frances streets for a rollover crash.
At the time of the crash, there was an increase in pedestrian and vehicle traffic because of the Notre Dame football game, police said.
When police got to the scene, they found a vehicle flipped onto its driver’s side and two damaged, unoccupied vehicles parked on Frances.
A witness said the flipped vehicle came “barreling through” the intersection as it accelerated, disregarding the stop sign in place for Frances Street traffic.
Wood admitted he was driving the vehicle and had drunk alcohol earlier. A breath sample test showed 0.151 grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath in Woods’ system, according to reports.
Wood has been charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated – endangering a person.
He is expected in court on November 20.
In October of 2022, Joseph Wood was pulled over by Mishawaka Police after he was observed driving at a high rate of speed, according to reports. Body camera footage revealed that the police officer who pulled him over noticed signs of intoxication in Wood. He was ultimately not arrested during that stop.