GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The judge postponed Wednesday the preliminary hearing for 27-year-old Joseph Ford.
She made the decision to give Ford’s attorney the chance to review the case.
However, the courtroom was packed. Friends of the victims looked on as Ford limped his way into the courtroom.
Ford is accused of drinking and driving and taking the lives of Eric Fischer, 23, and Andrea Herrera, 20.
The crash happened on October 10th at the intersection of Patterson Avenue and 36th Street where the suspect and the victim’s car collided, then collided with a semi.
According to court documents, a passenger in Ford’s car says they left a bar that night after drinking between two to four beers in addition two shots of liquor.
For did not speak out while in court, but nodded his head as the judge addressed the tragic nature of the case.
“You can’t get a case that’s more horrific than this, really,” Judge Sara Smolenski said. “This is such a horrific case for everybody…everybody. Different ways and different levels of distraughtness.”
Ford was placed on a tether and taken into custody on an unrelated charge Wednesday.
In this case, he’s charged with two counts of operating while intoxicated and being an habitual offender. The last charge stems from some previous drug convictions in addition to an OWI conviction in 2006.
No word on when the hearing will be rescheduled.
A candlelight vigil will be held on Thursday at 8 p.m. for Herrera at the Kent County Fairgrounds In Lowell. The vigil is also against drunk driving.
