After crashing her car, killing another person, and telling her arresting officer that she had "plenty" to drink, a woman will now spend the next 8 years in prison, as reported by NBC 4 from Chillicothe, Ohio.
S.S. has a history of multiple OVI charges, which is the acronym for Operating a Vehicle while Intoxicated, in 1997, 2008 and 2012.
Judge Leonard Holzapfel sentenced S.S. to the eight-year mandatory prison sentence for aggravated vehicular homicide and she must also pay $25,000 in restitution.
A.R., 36, died on July 5, 2013; one day after S.S. veered into oncoming lanes on U.S. Route 50, and crashed almost head-on into A.R.'s vehicle.
According to an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper at the scene, S.S. told him that he had "plenty" of alcohol to drink prior to the accident. Later her blood alcohol would prove to be .190 – over twice the legal limit to drive. Allegedly S.S. also told investigators that she had added to her inebriation by smoking marijuana all day.
K.L., A.R.'s younger sister, recalled for the court, "On the day (A.R.) was killed, this person with seven prior crashes and at least three prior OVIs, started drinking and driving at 10 o'clock in the morning."
Dr. W.R. commented, "To kill a remarkably healthy and fit 36-year-old, it takes a tremendous force, a violent, evil unimaginable force. The autopsy gave us some degree of what that force involved. Her body was hit so hard by the air bag, her lungs essentially popped."
Though S.S. wept in court as she listened to the testimonies, A.R.'s family said that she had shown no remorse for what she had done.
Dr. W.R. added, "This was not just a crime, the severity of the crime caused her death. When our family was suffering for the last six months we never received a phone call, a letter, a visit and never received a single condolence from the offender."
S.S. had an opportunity to apologize for her actions and said, "Words can never truly express how sorry I am. I don't consider myself a bad person. For the last 23 years, I have been blinded by my alcoholism. I will never forgive myself for taking another human life."
S.S.'s OVI history includes one in Athens County – where her blood alcohol content proved to be .10. In that case her driver's license was suspended. In 2008 S.S. received two OVIs in Ross county. In October of 2012 her OVI included intoxication by both marijuana and beer – but that case was dismissed.
Sherri Rutherford, the City of Chillicothe law director, told reporters that the 2012 case was dismissed because, "…here was a blood test she tested 21 nano grams of marijuana metabolite and unfortunately according to our legislature, at between 15 and 35 nano grams of marijuana in your system you also have to show there was alcohol present in the system as well and the blood screen came back zero for alcohol. As much as we did not like the law we had to follow the law in that case, so it was an outright dismissal."
According to Rutherford, she has her own personal reasons for taking OVIs very seriously – many years ago she lost more than one family member in a drunk driving crash on State Route 104.
Whether faced with an OVI, DUI, DWI, OUI or OWI, contact a DUI attorney for help. A DUI attorney is experienced in handling these types of cases.