A 17-year-old driver has been charged in the death of a high school classmate who was a passenger in her car on prom night last month in Ohio. The teenager, who has not been identified by officials, has been charged with one count of aggravated vehicular homicide and two counts of vehicular assault. The charges were announced earlier in May by the Butler County Sheriff’s Office. The plan right now is to keep the case in the juvenile court system.
The crash occurred on April 27. There were four people total in the car. According to the police report, the driver was operating a 2013 Tesla at high rates of speed. The vehicle spun out of control and hit a telephone pole when the driver tried to perform a correction in the course of travel.
Officers have not yet said how fast the vehicle was traveling at the time of the crash but said it was fast enough to warrant the charges levied. An accident reconstruction team is still working to recreate the crash scene from that fatal night.
Deputies said that the girl who died was in the backseat of the car and was not wearing a seat belt. The victim was thrown through the windshield of the car. She died from her injuries three days after the accident at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
The two other passengers in the car were treated for minor injuries and have since been released from the hospital. The driver was not injured in the crash. The driver is scheduled for a court appearance on May 24.
Wrongful death is traumatizing, stressful and incredibly difficult to handle. When you have suffered the wrongful death of a loved one in Dayton, Ohio, it’s best to seek out counsel from a variety of professionals.
Source: WCPO, “Authorities charge teen driver in fatal prom night crash,” May 10, 2018
