Police say prank resulted in fatal crash

UNIONTOWN, Pa., Dec. 10 (UPI) -- One man is dead and another facing criminal charges after a prank resulted in a deadly car crash in Fayette County, Pa., state police say.

Police said Emmett "Boone" Cooke, 50, caused the death of 49-year-old Uniontown resident Terry Kurosky last year by pulling on the emergency brake of the moving vehicle the pair was traveling in, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review said Wednesday.

Cooke allegedly told police after the accident on May 7, 2007, that he and Kurosky routinely pulled pranks on one another, including activating the other's emergency brake while traveling together.

But Cooke's alleged activation of the brake in Kurosky's car on the night in question caused the victim's Chevrolet Cavalier to go out of control and crash, killing Kurosky.

Cooke entered a plea of no contest to charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment on Monday. Such a plea does not represent an admission of guilt, the Tribune-Review said.

The newspaper said Cooke is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 17, 2009, and is facing between three and 17 months in jail.