Driver named in hit-run crash still could face license re-exam

Wed September 23 2009
Posted Sep 23, 2009
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A suspect in a fatal Warren County hit-and-run bicycle accident last month could face a special reexamination of his ability to drive even before his case is concluded in court. An Iowa Department of Transportation official said earlier this week that officials could not pull the license of Paul McKinney, 79, unless he was convicted of a crime. There is, however, another avenue available for special review, Kim Snook, director of the office of driver services with the Iowa Department of Transportation, said on Wednesday. She says the office could require a special reexamination if a licensee has been involved in a fatal motor vehicle accident and the investigating officer's report of the accident indicates the licensee contributed to the accident. Other circumstances could result in a special reexamination as well. That has not been done in the McKinney case. He is accused of leaving the scene of a fatal truck-bicycle accident in Warren County on Aug. 30. Bicyclist Mark Grgurich, 54, was killed in the crash. Officials said McKinney's driver's license comes up for renewal next month anyway. But if the traffic accident report reaches a DOT team assigned to such cases in the meantime, McKinney could be called in even earlier for reexamination of his vision and abilities. In such cases, a license can be pulled if it is determined the individual is incapable of driving. All of that is speculative in the McKinney case at this point, Snook said, as the report has not been turned in for review.