MIAMI, Okla. — State charges were dropped against a Fairland man involved in an alcohol-related incident that killed a friend.
Clay McCormick, 20, of Fairland, was facing misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence and negligent homicide in Ottawa County District Court in the death of Chase Langston, 19, of Parsons, Kan.
Langston died on April 6 from injuries he sustained in the April 3rd incident.
On Wednesday, prosecutors dropped the charges, citing a lack of jurisdiction.
McCormick is a member of the Wyandotte Nation Tribe. Court records show the case is being transferred to the Miami Tribal Court due to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling known as “McGirt.”
The McGirt ruling allowed for the recognition of the jurisdiction of the five tribes, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole reservations as well as Ottawa, Peoria and Quapaw reservations.
The two men were close friends and the Langston family has publicly supported McCormick and on a social media site saying they did not want the courts to pursue criminal charges.
The Incident
McCormick told investigators at the scene he participated in a “drinking game” with friends during the evening and had consumed “five or six beers,” according to an arrest affidavit.
McCormick was with a group that left his house to drive to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M to check on some horses.
Langston was reportedly running down the roadway in front of McCormick’s truck when he turned and jumped on the truck’s hood, prompting McCormick to slam his brakes, knocking Langston onto the roadway, the affidavit states.
In a related matter, Ottawa County District Court records show the Langston family reached a $550,000 settlement with McCormick’s insurance company over the accident.
