Guilty verdict in fatal accident

(La Porte, IN) – A man has been convicted in connection with a fatal car crash in La Porte County.

John Niego, 64, of Kingsbury was found guilty Friday in a trial in La Porte Circuit Court.

Taren O'Bair, 29, of Grovertown died in the 2021 crash on US 6 in Johnson Township.

According to La Porte County police, Niego was driving his Dodge Ram pickup truck very erratically when he collided with the front driver's side of an oncoming semi-truck and the victim's oncoming SUV.

According to police, Niego, who sustained injuries in the accident, had neither alcohol nor drugs in his blood despite his erratic driving.

Niego was found guilty of two counts of aggravated reckless driving and two counts of aggressive driving.

He could face a prison sentence of between one and six years for the most serious charge, and additional time could be imposed for the remaining charges.

La Porte County District Attorney Sean Fagan praised two of his assistant prosecutors and the lead police investigator in the case.

“Autumn Ferch and Brody Shoffner did an excellent job of presenting our case, building on the intensive investigative work of Sergeant Scott Boswell of the Sheriff's Office,” he said.