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Bishop O'Brien Freed on Bail

Aired June 17, 2003 - 14:14   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A bishop who just recently avoided prosecution in the priest sex abuse scandal is free on bail, charged with leaving the scene of a fatal hit-and-run. Bishop Thomas O'Brien's charges stem from the death of a jaywalker Saturday night.
CNN national correspondent Frank Buckley is covering this story from Phoenix, Arizona.

Hi -- Frank.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.

And County Attorney Rick Romley just wrapping up his news conference a few moments ago that you were showing live just a few moments ago, talking about this case. He says the investigation continues. It is not over, because he's asking investigators to go back and to reconstruct the last four or five hours before Mr. O'Brien, Bishop Thomas O'Brien, was involved in this accident. They want to know if there was any impairment that could have affected this accident.

We saw last night Thomas O'Brien appearing in court for his first court appearance. He faces a charge of fleeing from a fatal accident. The range of possible sentences, if convicted: probation on the low end, up to three years and nine months in prison on the high end.

Police went to O'Brien's home to investigate the fatal hit-and- run that occurred on Saturday after a witness jotted down O'Brien's license plate number. The car is clearly damaged. The front windshield on the passenger side is shattered and caved in. Police say Bishop O'Brien told them he thought he hit a dog or a cat or that someone may have thrown a rock into the windshield. Police say he actually hit 43-year-old Jim Reed, who was crossing a darkened street at about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday night, and he was killed in the hit- and-run accident.

County Attorney Rick Romley just a few moments ago explaining the law as it relates to this case and whether or not Bishop O'Brien should have stopped at the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK ROMLEY, MARICOPA COUNTY PROSECUTOR: Suffice it to say that our law here in Arizona, it requires that the driver had known that he injured an individual or a reasonable person should have known that he may have hit an individual, and the facts and circumstances surrounding his conduct after the accident will go directly to that element of the charge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: And Romley saying that, obviously, he wouldn't have brought the charge if he felt as though the standard hadn't been met.

And, meanwhile, he says the investigation is continuing. They're looking into this idea of was impairment a possibility here, was alcohol possibly involved? They are not suggesting that it was, but they are still looking at that as a possible issue. And they are going to go back a few hours before the accident to see if that was an issue.

Meanwhile, they also stress that Bishop O'Brien, despite his position in the community and despite the previous tension between the county attorney and the diocese, that he'll be treated just like anybody else -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Frank, that question has been raised, the issue of was alcohol involved? And we were listening a little bit to this. When you say going back a couple hours, the bishop had been attending a few confirmation parties, is that right? Is that how they will go back and reinvestigate a bit?

BUCKLEY: It was described to us earlier as having -- that he had attended some mass on Saturday. Apparently, he had attended some confirmations. And what they'll do is even though the county attorney is saying that they can't go back and test blood in the same way that you could immediately after an accident, what they can do is go back and find out where was the bishop? And talk to the people who were at those events. Ask them, was he drinking? Was there any alcohol involved? If so, how much? And in that sense, they are able to piece together a picture, at least put together a picture of what the bishop was experiencing in the moments that led up to that accident on Saturday night.

PHILLIPS: And he could face additional charges. Our Frank Buckley live from Phoenix, Arizona. Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired June 17, 2003 - 14:14   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A bishop who just recently avoided prosecution in the priest sex abuse scandal is free on bail, charged with leaving the scene of a fatal hit-and-run. Bishop Thomas O'Brien's charges stem from the death of a jaywalker Saturday night.
CNN national correspondent Frank Buckley is covering this story from Phoenix, Arizona.

Hi -- Frank.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.

And County Attorney Rick Romley just wrapping up his news conference a few moments ago that you were showing live just a few moments ago, talking about this case. He says the investigation continues. It is not over, because he's asking investigators to go back and to reconstruct the last four or five hours before Mr. O'Brien, Bishop Thomas O'Brien, was involved in this accident. They want to know if there was any impairment that could have affected this accident.

We saw last night Thomas O'Brien appearing in court for his first court appearance. He faces a charge of fleeing from a fatal accident. The range of possible sentences, if convicted: probation on the low end, up to three years and nine months in prison on the high end.

Police went to O'Brien's home to investigate the fatal hit-and- run that occurred on Saturday after a witness jotted down O'Brien's license plate number. The car is clearly damaged. The front windshield on the passenger side is shattered and caved in. Police say Bishop O'Brien told them he thought he hit a dog or a cat or that someone may have thrown a rock into the windshield. Police say he actually hit 43-year-old Jim Reed, who was crossing a darkened street at about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday night, and he was killed in the hit- and-run accident.

County Attorney Rick Romley just a few moments ago explaining the law as it relates to this case and whether or not Bishop O'Brien should have stopped at the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK ROMLEY, MARICOPA COUNTY PROSECUTOR: Suffice it to say that our law here in Arizona, it requires that the driver had known that he injured an individual or a reasonable person should have known that he may have hit an individual, and the facts and circumstances surrounding his conduct after the accident will go directly to that element of the charge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: And Romley saying that, obviously, he wouldn't have brought the charge if he felt as though the standard hadn't been met.

And, meanwhile, he says the investigation is continuing. They're looking into this idea of was impairment a possibility here, was alcohol possibly involved? They are not suggesting that it was, but they are still looking at that as a possible issue. And they are going to go back a few hours before the accident to see if that was an issue.

Meanwhile, they also stress that Bishop O'Brien, despite his position in the community and despite the previous tension between the county attorney and the diocese, that he'll be treated just like anybody else -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Frank, that question has been raised, the issue of was alcohol involved? And we were listening a little bit to this. When you say going back a couple hours, the bishop had been attending a few confirmation parties, is that right? Is that how they will go back and reinvestigate a bit?

BUCKLEY: It was described to us earlier as having -- that he had attended some mass on Saturday. Apparently, he had attended some confirmations. And what they'll do is even though the county attorney is saying that they can't go back and test blood in the same way that you could immediately after an accident, what they can do is go back and find out where was the bishop? And talk to the people who were at those events. Ask them, was he drinking? Was there any alcohol involved? If so, how much? And in that sense, they are able to piece together a picture, at least put together a picture of what the bishop was experiencing in the moments that led up to that accident on Saturday night.

PHILLIPS: And he could face additional charges. Our Frank Buckley live from Phoenix, Arizona. Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.