Barnes enters plea on charge in Fanning death
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- Published on 17 July 2012
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The driver of the truck involved in events leading to the April death of Doane junior Cody Fanning plead guilty to motor vehicle homicide in Saline County Court July 6.
Cody Barnes, 22, of Smithfield, plead guilty to the class 1 misdemeanor, amended from the original, felony manslaughter charge he faced in May.
Fanning, 20, of Wauneta, died from injuries he received after a fall from the back of a moving truck he was standing in with friends early the morning of April 25 on their way back to Doane’s campus in Crete.
Crete Police were called to Crete Area Medical Center, where Barnes, the driver of the truck, and his passengers took Fanning after he fell out of the truck at 13th and Iris.
Barnes was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence when he blew a 0.134 after the incident.
He had a preliminary hearing in Wilber July 6 on the amended charge, which Saline County Attorney Tad Eickman attributed to new information uncovered about the early morning of April 25.
Accounts said Barnes tried to stop Fanning from standing in the back of the truck as he was driving back to campus. Eickman said investigators found nothing to indicate Barnes drove erratically. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 18.
Barnes was a teammate with Fanning on the Doane College football team.