OAK PARK, Mich. (WWJ) -- A Huntington Woods woman has been ordered to stand trial for murder stemming from an alleged drunk driving crash that killed a local high school football coach.
Cranbrook Kingswood High School football coach Ben Jones was killed on Aug. 19, 2020 when Wendy Bass’s car slammed into the back of his along the I-696 Service Drive near Woodward Avenue in Pleasant Ridge.
Bass’s blood alcohol content was reportedly 0.28% -- more than three times the legal limit -- at the time of the crash.
Police say Bass was speeding when she hit Jones’s Jeep and the force of the crash pushed his vehicle into two cars in front of him
A judge in Oak Park on Wednesday ordered Bass to stand trial in Oakland County Circuit Court on charges of second-degree murder, operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and reckless driving causing death.
Bass remains free on $50,000 bond.
Jones, 30, was about to start his second season as the coach at Cranbrook.
Jones, a graduate of Muskegon Catholic Central High School, played college football at Hillsdale College before getting into coaching.
Cranbrook Kingswood Athletic Director Stephen Graf described Jones as "the epitome of a high school football coach" who loved the game, kids and coaches, according to a story from Hometown Life last summer.
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