Episcopal Bishop Heather Cook spent the weekend in jail after being charged in connection with the hit-and-run crash that killed bicyclist Thomas Palermo. On Monday, a judge ruled Cook would remain in custody because she is a flight risk, according to the AP.
Cook, the second ranking Episcopal official in Maryland, is being held on a $2.5 million bail. On Friday, she was charged with vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crash. Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby also alleged that Cook was drunk and texting when she hit Palermo in the 5700 block of Roland Ave. on Dec. 27. When tested after she returned to the scene, Cook had a blood-alcohol level of .22, Mosby said.
According to WBAL’s Jayne Miller, Cook’s attorney said she was in treatment from the time soon after the crash until she turned herself in on Friday evening. Prosecutors, however, pointed to Cook’s 2010 DUI arrest and the factors surrounding last month’s crash, saying she was “blind driving down the road.”
