An Ohio woman was recently indicted by a grand jury on four counts in relation to her involvement in a fatal 2016 car accident. Apart from the criminal charges, she is also facing personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits in civil court. The fatal accident claimed the life of a 68-year-old man. It also caused serious injuries to a passenger.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol reports that a 63-year-old woman was driving last Aug. 27 in Greene County when her vehicle crashed into a pickup truck. The authorities have accused her of being drunk at the time of the accident. The driver of the pickup was declared dead at the scene. Both his female passenger and the allegedly drunk driver were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, but have since recovered.
The defendant’s blood alcohol level, per the accident report, was over four times the legal limit at the time of the crash. The woman was arrested and posted bond. She now faces charges of aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular assault, second and third degree felonies. She also faces two first-degree misdemeanors of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and/or other drugs. The second degree felony count provides for mandatory imprisonment in the event of a conviction.
If a conviction is won in criminal court, proof of that will likely be sufficient to establish financial liability in civil court. However, a conviction is not a prerequisite to securing a monetary judgment is a related civil lawsuit. The estate of the deceased man and the injured woman seek damages in excess of $25,000. Anyone in Ohio who has been similarly injured or lost a loved one in a car accident due to another’s negligence has the right to consult a personal injury attorney to explore grounds for pursuing a civil suit.
Source: xeniagazette.com, “BREAKING NEWS: Xenia woman indicted for fatal crash that killed one“, March 21, 2017
