He filed a written plea of not guilty to the charges on Jan. 27 in Adams County District Court.

Pingel’s attorney, Richard Calkins of Alma, also filed a motion for discovery, which Judge Terri Harder sustained on Monday.

A pre-trial hearing has been scheduled for April 14 at 9:30 a.m.

Pingel waived his right to a preliminary hearing in a written waiver filed Dec. 12, 2021, in Adams County Court.

Pingel is accused of unintentionally killing Victoria Fleming, 16, of Superior and Tristen Owens, 18, of Hastings in a Dec. 12, 2021, crash at 12th Street and Blaine Avenue.

Court records show Fleming and Owens were passengers in a black 1997 Dodge Ram pickup traveling eastbound on 12th Street when it collided with a 2015 silver Jeep Grand Cherokee going northbound on Blaine Avenue. The crash caused the Ram to enter the northeast ditch with extensive front end damage and land on its passenger side.

There were four people in the pickup. The two people injured in the Ram were taken to Mary Lanning Healthcare for treatment — presumably the reason for the third-degree assault charges.

Deputies at the scene determined the Jeep, registered to Pingel, had violated the stop sign for northbound traffic on Blaine Avenue. The driver of the pickup and several employees from the nearby AGP plant who responded to the scene told deputies Pingel was “walking near or away from his damaged Jeep shortly after the accident.”

No one else at the scene is believed to have been associated with Pingel’s vehicle.

Deputies who contacted Pingel noticed the odor of alcohol coming from him, bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. Pingel failed to answer questions correctly. An officer observed Pingel to be “very clumsy” and said he “was having trouble trying to walk” to the medical service unit. Once inside, Pingel stumbled around until lying down on a stretcher.

Pingel was taken to Mary Lanning Healthcare, and a deputy followed the ambulance. At the hospital, the deputy read him the Post Arrest Chemical Test Advisement Form. When asked if he understood what was being read to him, Pingel allegedly refused to have his blood drawn.

Deputies obtained a search warrant to obtain a legal blood draw from Pingel, but he didn’t consent to the blood being drawn. This is assumed to be the basis for the contempt of court charge.

Motor vehicle homicide while driving under the influence of alcohol is a Class 2A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Third-degree assault is a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. DUI is a Class W misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Contempt of court is identified as a special penalty, but only listed as a fine and/or imprisonment.