Episcopalians Outraged Heather Cook Was Promoted to Bishop After 2010 DUI; Some Didn't Know About Alcoholism Until Hit-And-Run

Thomas Palermo, 41, and Heather Cook, 58.

As the Episcopal Church of Maryland reels over last Saturday's fatal hit-and-run accident involving their second-highest ranking official, Heather Cook, 58, some Episcopalians say she should've never been promoted so soon after her 2010 DUI, while others say they weren't informed about her scandalous brush with the law before her election last spring.

Cook, who was elected as the first female bishop of the Episcopal Church of Maryland in May, hit 41-year-old married father of two, Thomas Palermo, as he cycled on a Baltimore roadway Saturday afternoon then fled the scene as he lay dying. She only returned to see what she had done after other cyclists reportedly chased her down.

An investigation into her background by several media outlets this week highlighted details of a shocking 2010 DUI where she was reportedly so drunk she couldn't complete a sobriety test. Read more

Photo: Facebook; Episcopalmaryland.org