Published: October 12, 2009 09:30 pm      

Victim’s mother shares story

Police preparing for drunken driving checkpoint hear from grieving mom

ROCHESTER — Police getting ready for a drunken driving checkpoint in Rochester this month had a special guest in attendance.

Christine Jones, whose son Jonathan H. Kamp was killed by an intoxicated driver in Kosciusko County in November 2007, spoke to officers and showed pictures of the crash that took the life of her son. She wanted to emphasize how important it is to remove impaired drivers from Indiana roadways and thank the officers for trying to prevent drunk drivers from causing pain and suffering to another family.

Jones told officers her son was killed when Leonard F. Williams ran a stop sign and struck his pickup truck on the driver’s side. Williams fled the scene and was later captured. An investigation revealed he was intoxicated at the time of the crash.

Williams is now serving a 25-year sentence in the Indiana Department of Correction. He pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death and other charges related to the crash.

Jones wants to educate the motoring public on the suffering caused when an impaired driver takes the life of an innocent victim.

In the future, she plans to start a Fulton County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

At this time, there is a Web site started by Kamp’s youngest sister at www.jonathanhowardkamp.com. The site is dedicated to Kamp’s memory and to educating the public on the devastating affects of drunk driving.

During the two-hour checkpoint on Oct. 2, officers stopped 134 drivers and arrested one, a 19-year-old Rochester man who was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and underage drinking.

“Checkpoints serve two purposes,” Lt. Matt Bilkey, commander of the Peru post of the Indiana State Police, said in a news release. “First and foremost is to remove impaired drivers from Indiana roadways. The second is to advertise to the motoring public that law enforcement is actively seeking to arrest those few individuals who choose to drive impaired. Through this, we hope to deter anyone from operating a vehicle while intoxicated.”

Police encourage residents to report suspected impaired drivers by calling 911.