LIMA — A Columbus Grove man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months in prison for striking a female pedestrian with his car as she crossed Spencerville Road on Thanksgiving Day 2016.
Curtis M. Miller, 36, pleaded no contest in January to charges of aggravated vehicular assault, a third-degree felony, and operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a misdemeanor of the first degree. He was found guilty by Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge David Cheney.
Ohio law required a mandatory prison sentence be imposed on the vehicular assault charge.
Miller was operating a vehicle which inadvertently struck 23-year-old Whitney Allen of Lima on the November evening in question. Allen suffered numerous broken bones and injuries after she was hit at 1 a.m. after leaving J’s American Pub, 2307 Spencerville Road. Allen was crossing the road and walking along the north edge of Spencerville Road to get to the parking lot of Fat Jack’s Pizza when she was struck by Miller’s vehicle, which had been across the street in the parking lot at J’s, according to police reports.
During Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Defense Attorney Bill Kluge asked the court to impose the minimum possible penalty — a nine-month prison sentence. Kluge acknowledged that the victim had suffered serious and traumatic injuries, but he cited his client’s genuine remorse in causing the accident as well as his three tours of duty as a military veteran is asking the court for leniency.
Cheney acknowledged Miller’s military service, but also took into account factors that included the seriousness of Allen’s injuries and the defendant’s three prior convictions for alcohol-related offenses.
Allen addressed the court briefly and recounted the physical and emotional pain and suffering she continues to endure due to the accident. “I feel it is my duty to voice my opinion, because not everybody gets this chance,” she told the court.
Miller apologized directly to Allen in court. “I’m truly sorry, and I wish things could be different. I’m glad you’re alive,” he said.
Cheney sentenced Miller to 30 months in prison on the aggravated vehicular assault charge and six months on the OVI charge. The judge ordered the sentences to be served concurrently.
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