A new preliminary hearing date, Sept. 30, has been set for William Howard Baker. The Great Bend man faces charges in the deaths of a Reno County couple who were riding motorcycles through Great Bend in August 2014. Baker, who was 59 years old at the time, was driving a pickup that was pulling a trailer carrying a mower, and the trailer came loose on 10th St., hitting the approaching motorcycles. Shawn Schellenger, 27, and his wife Danielle Schellenger, 33, died as a result of the accident.
The hearing scheduled for July was postponed at the request of defense attorney Charles A. O’Hara, Wichita. Barton County Attorney Douglas Matthews did not object. According to the motion for a continuance, the parties were involved in plea negotiations.
The new hearing is set for 10 a.m. on Sept. 30 in Barton County District Court.
Baker remains free on his own recognizance.