By BOB OLIVER
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN — The sentencing of the 28-year-old Highland Township man who pled no contest to impaired driving charges for his role in a hayride rollover at Camp Dearborn last year that sent nine people to area hospitals has been postponed until Monday.
Adam Forehand was to appear before 52nd District Court Judge Robert Bondy last Wednesday for sentencing but the matter was adjourned at the request of the Forehand’s attorney.
Forehand originally was charged with reckless driving by Oakland County, but agreed last month to plead no contest to the reduced charge of impaired driving.
The impaired driving charge calls for a driver’s license restriction for 90 days while the reckless driving charge carried a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail or a $500 fine
Forehand is scheduled to be sentenced by Bondy at 9 a.m. March 31.
Forehand, a part-time employee at Camp Dearborn, was driving a tractor towing passengers around the camp for a hayride Oct. 27 when the rollover occurred.
According to published reports, the incident occurred shortly after 5:30 p.m. in Area B of the camp when Forehand attempted to navigate a small hill. The tractor was turning to the left, toward a row of campsites, when the trailer turned over, landed on its side and righted itself again.
All 16 passengers, who were associated with the Henry Ford Community College Support Staff Association, were thrown from the trailer and several riders sustained injuries.
According to the police report filed after the accident, Forehand informed the police he had been drinking before the accident and was given a breath test by the officers, registering a blood alcohol content of .06 percent. The legal limit for driving in Michigan is .08 percent.
Forehand said he had consumed alcohol because it was his birthday.
Camp Dearborn is owned by the city of Dearborn though it is located in Milford.
(Bob Oliver can be reached at [email protected])