XPost: alt.religion.christian.episcopal, sac.politics, alt.polit   
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   XPost: md.politics   
   From: rhett@shaw.ca   
      
   BALTIMORE –  An Episcopal bishop who was the driver in a hit-and-   
   run crash that killed a bicyclist in Baltimore was charged four   
   years ago with drunken driving and marijuana possession, court   
   documents show.   
      
   Bishop Suffragan Heather Cook, who is the No. 2 leader for the   
   Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, was driving a car that hit Tom   
   Palermo, 41, on a sunny Saturday afternoon, diocese spokeswoman   
   Sharon Tillman said.   
      
   Palermo died from head injuries, said Bruce Goldfarb, spokesman   
   for the Maryland medical examiner's office.   
      
   Court records show that a sheriff's deputy stopped Cook on Sept.   
   10, 2010, in Caroline County on the Eastern Shore. The officer   
   wrote in a report that Cook was driving on the shoulder at 29   
   mph in a 50 mph-zone with a shredded front tire. The deputy   
   noted that a strong alcohol odor emanated from the vehicle and   
   that Cook had vomit down the front of her shirt.   
      
   The officer wrote that Cook was so intoxicated that she couldn't   
   finish a field sobriety test because she might fall and hurt   
   herself.   
      
   According to the report, Cook registered .27 percent blood   
   alcohol content. The legal limit in Maryland is .08 percent.   
      
   The officer found two small bags of marijuana in the vehicle,   
   along with paraphernalia, and a bottle of wine and a bottle of   
   liquor.   
      
   Cook pleaded guilty to drunken driving, and the prosecution of   
   marijuana possession charges was dropped. A judge sentenced her   
   to a fine and probation before judgment on the DUI charge,   
   meaning her record could be cleared if she stayed out of trouble.   
      
   Tillman said Cook disclosed the earlier charges when she was   
   vetted and ultimately elected as the diocese's first female   
   bishop.   
      
   In an email Sunday, Bishop Eugene Sutton told priests in the   
   diocese that Cook left the scene of Saturday's accident, but   
   returned about 20 minutes later "to take responsibility for her   
   actions."   
      
   Flowers and messages at the scene Monday expressed sympathy for   
   Palermo. The busy residential road included a designated bike   
   lane.   
      
   Sutton said Cook was on administrative leave "because the nature   
   of the accident could result in criminal charges."   
      
   "Together with the Diocese of Maryland, I express my deep sorrow   
   over the death of the cyclist and offer my condolences to the   
   victim's family," Sutton said.   
      
   Police confirmed in a statement Monday that the driver of the   
   car left the scene and returned later, but they declined to   
   release her identity or the cause of the crash, saying they were   
   still investigating.   
      
   Cook's attorney, David Irwin, said Monday that his client was   
   questioned by police but not arrested.   
      
   Moncure Lyon, 65, of Baltimore, said he was just finishing up a   
   bike ride when he came upon Palermo lying in the street in a   
   semi-fetal position, his head on the curb.   
      
   "Several times I tried to take his pulse, but I couldn't find   
   any response. . He was hit hard. Both wheels on his bike were   
   knocked off and severely out of round," Lyon said.   
      
   As other passers-by called 911, Lyon said he went looking for   
   the car based on other witness descriptions. He found it about   
   100 yards away at a stop light, he said.   
      
   "The windshield was completely smashed in, with a hole on the   
   passenger side, and from the damage of the car, there was no   
   doubt in my mind that was the car," he said. "I asked the lady   
   who was driving, 'Are you all right?' Then the light turned   
   green, she said 'Yes,' and she left."   
      
   When he returned to the scene, he saw the woman talking to a   
   police officer.   
      
   Palermo's sister-in-law Alisa Rock said the family is devastated.   
      
   "Tom was a loving husband, a dedicated father," Rock said,   
   adding that he was an avid cyclist who often took rides on   
   weekends.   
      
   http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/12/29/1st-female-episcopal-bishop-   
   maryland-responsible-in-fatal-hit-and-   
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