Man avoids prison time for vehicular homicide

A Gibsonburg man avoided prison time for his role in a 2006 crash that killed his friend largely because too much time passed before the case was prosecuted, state troopers say.But the man's attorney argues troopers botched the investigation, and there's still doubt about who drove the car.Dustin Young, 28, was initially indicted for aggravated vehicular homicide for the death of Nicholas Hoffman, 24, also of Gibsonburg, and faced at least 15 years in prison for the first-degree felony charge.He pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of vehicular homicide, a first-degree misdemeanor, in December, according to court records. Visiting Judge Harry Sargeant Jr. sentenced him to six months in jail with the possibility of being released with electronic monitoring after 90 days. He's also required to pay a $500 fine and court costs, and his driver's license will be suspended for one year, according to court records.Sandusky County prosecutor Tom Stierwalt relied on the state highway patrol's investigation and testimony to outline the case against Young.Sgt. Brett Gockstetter of the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Fremont post called the reduced sentence unfortunate."I would have obviously liked to see the aggravated charge," said Gockstetter, one of several troopers who responded to the crash. "If it would have been (prosecuted) a few years ago, I think it would have been a successful case — he would have done prison time."Tests at the scene showed Young had drugs in his system and a blood alcohol concentration of 0.164, according to the report from the state highway patrol. A judge ultimately sided with Young and ruled to suppress those results.Young's public defender, Christopher Fiegl, said that was because the state highway patrol didn't follow procedure by keeping the blood samples refrigerated.He doesn't dispute the fact that both Young and Hoffman were under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and both had suspended driver's licenses.But he said witnesses saw Hoffman driving away from a Fremont bar as the two headed back to Gibsonburg after a night out.Young, then 23, was driving a 2001 Lincoln LS the night of Sept. 10, 2006, when he lost control along a curve on the one-lane Muskellunge Creek Road and overcorrected, according to the post.He skidded off the road, struck a tree and spun the car clockwise.Neither Young nor Hoffman wore a seat belt, and the impact threw them both from the car. Young spent significant time recovering in the hospital, but Hoffman died three days later from his injuries.Gockstetter said when questioned after the crash, Young denied he'd been driving.But troopers found Hoffman's shoe jammed under the floorboard of the passenger seat, which Gockstetter said proves he was sitting there."Their whole theory is ridiculous," Fiegl said. "You can't prove who's driving based on a shoe. The fact is, a man was thrown quite a distance as the car was wrapping its way around a tree. It defies logic."Fiegl said he believes the case fell off the radar while Young served time in prison for a probation violation, and the suppression hearings dragged on because the highway patrol couldn't find witnesses to testify several years after the crash.He said Young still has no memory of what happened because he was in a coma after the crash. But he ultimately accepted a plea deal to avoid trial and move on from an emotional saga that's haunted him for years."We have substantial evidence (he was not driving)," Fiegl said. "But he felt it was his car, his best friend, and he wanted closure."