The penalties for drunk driving and driving under suspension in Ohio are serious enough individually. Drunk driving on a suspended license can be mean even more severe consequences. If someone becomes hurt as a result of these activities, one can expect the penalty to include jail time if convicted. A 22-year-old man is a case in point as the court recently sentenced him to 10 years in prison for an alleged drunk driving hit-and-run that resulted in the death of a 30-year-old mother of two who was walking down the street in Canton at the time the accident occurred in July 2018.
The driver had reportedly attended a wedding reception where he had allegedly imbibed alcohol, before getting into a truck and leaving to attend another party. Records show that the young man had had a prior drunk driving conviction that had resulted in a suspended license. His blood alcohol level at the time is not known, nor is it known how fast the vehicle was traveling.
During his testimony, the driver admitted to striking the pedestrian from behind with his vehicle, causing her body to hit the windshield. According to the coroner’s office, she died at the scene after traveling at least 400 hundred feet, first in the air and then along the ground. The driver allegedly left the scene and continued on to the other social gathering.
The driver pleaded guilty to driving under suspension, drunken driving and aggravated vehicular homicide, for which the court sentenced him to eight years in prison. The judge then added another two years to his sentence for failing to stop after an accident, making his total sentence 10 years in prison.
The more charges one faces, the more severe the penalties are likely to be if convicted. It may, therefore, be helpful for those facing drunk driving and/or other charges to seek the services of an attorney.
