Published: June 06, 2007 10:31 pm         

19-year-old could face eight years for death of child

Mom unhappy with maximum punishment

TERRE HAUTE — A recent high-school graduate could face up to eight years in prison for the death of an 11-year-old bicyclist he struck with his car Friday.

Bryan P. Decker, 19, of Terre Haute was in court Wednesday, along with his parents and his attorney, Bob Wright, where he learned that he is charged with one count of operating a vehicle with a schedule I or II controlled substance, specifically marijuana, in his blood, causing death, a class-C felony.

Vigo County Superior Court Division 1 Judge Michael Eldred explained to Decker that the charge carries a minimum of two years and a maximum of eight years in prison, and up to $10,000 in fines.

To be convicted, he is not required to have been intoxicated or impaired at the time of the accident. The charge could be amended to a lesser charge, a class-D felony, if blood tests come back indicating Decker had marijuana in his body rather than in his blood, according to Prosecutor Terry Modesitt.

Modesitt said the prosecution is waiting for the results of blood samples sent to the Indiana State Police lab in Indianapolis, but “based upon statements that [Decker] made to police, it appears it probably will come back in the blood because [the marijuana use] had been fairly recent.”

Modesitt added that Decker told police he had used marijuana within hours of the crash at the intersection of Wallace and Fruitridge avenues.

Wright said after court that for Decker to be convicted, it will have to be “proven that he was the proximate cause of this accident.”

Decker, who was listed in the 2007 commencement program for Terre Haute South Vigo High School, turned 19 on Friday, the same day of the collision. He has no prior criminal record.

Cameron S. Langenfeld, recently a student at Riley Elementary, was pronounced dead Sunday in Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis from injuries suffered in the crash.

Langenfeld’s mother, Pamela Langenfeld, attended Wednesday’s hearing.

Afterward, she said that while she understands the prosecutor has to follow the law, “It’s a joke” that the maximum penalty for Decker is eight years.

“He took the next 50 to 60 years of Cam’s life,” she said. “He cost me my baby.”

Langenfeld said she visited the scene of the accident and saw no skid marks. She said she didn’t think her son “ever felt a thing.”

Both car and bicycle were northbound on Fruitridge Avenue at the time of the collision, police have said.

Decker allegedly told police that Langenfeld was trying to turn left onto Wallace Avenue, in front of Decker’s vehicle. Family members of the child told police that Langenfeld commonly took the same route between his mother’s home on Indiana 46 and his grandfather’s house in the Indian Acres subdivision. They told police that the boy would not have been turning there.

Wright said that Decker has stated that he was traveling at 25 mph. “Police officers at the scene that night made the comment that it was a terrible, terrible accident, and we agree with that,” he said.

“The Deckers are a good family and they are very sorry for the accident and for the Langenfelds, and Bryan knows this is a cross he will have to carry for the rest of his life,” Wright said.

Preliminary results of Langenfeld’s autopsy could be available today from Marion County.

Cameron Langenfeld’s family donated the boy’s kidneys, pancreas, small intestine and liver to a single recipient, according to his mother.

A trial date of Nov. 13 has been set for Decker, and the court entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. Eldred ordered Decker to seek drug counseling as a condition of his bail.

Pamela Langenfeld, a fourth-grade teacher, said the trial date falls one week before Cameron would have turned 12.

As for her thoughts on Decker, Pamela Langenfeld said, “As a mother and a teacher, I feel sorry for him. If he has any conscience, he will feel sorry, and he will have to live with this for the rest of his life.”

Decker declined comment after the hearing.

Tribune-Star staffer John D. Wright contributed to this story.

Deb McKee can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or deb.mckee@tribstar.com; Wright at john.wright@tribstar.com or (812) 231-4255.