On Aug. 28, a Rome, Ohio, man received a seven-year prison sentence for his role in a drunk driving collision that killed a Toledo, Ohio, woman earlier this year. According to prosecutors, the defendant was intoxicated and speeding last Feb. 14 when his SUV struck the rear of the victim’s car as she waited for a stop light.
According to news reports and court documents, the defendant was traveling northbound on Byrne Road in Toledo around 1:00 p.m. on the day of the accident. He was reported to have been traveling somewhere between 80 and 100 mph before he collided with the victim near the intersection at Dorr Street. The tremendous force of the impact also led to other crashes resulting in a total five vehicles being involved in the multi-car wreck
Ohio considers a person with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 to be legally impaired. A sample of the defendant’s blood taken at Toledo Hospital just after the crash revealed that the defendant’s blood alcohol level was more than three times that amount, at 0.28.
Last month, the 22-year-old defendant entered a no contest plea to charges of aggravated vehicular homicide for his role in the death of the 47-year-old victim. That decision may have not impressed the judge who presided over the defendant’s sentencing hearing at the Lucas County Common Pleas Court.
The judge downplayed the defense attorney’s argument for leniency, noting that his client’s only prior arrest for disorderly conduct/public intoxication should have been a warning about the dangers of substance abuse. In addition to ordering the defendant to pay the victim’s family $30,000 in restitution, the judge also permanently revoked his driving privileges.
Ohio motorists involved in multiple car OVI accidents sometimes have difficulty recovering compensation for their losses because it is difficult to ascertain the at-fault party. In some cases, it is necessary to obtain the assistance of crash reconstruction experts in order to establish liability.
If you have been injured as the result of an OVI accident involving multiple vehicles, it may still be possible to identify the at-fault party and sue him or her for financial compensation.
Source: The Blade, “Ohio man gets 7 years for slamming, killing driver in intoxicated crash” Aug. 28, 2014