No jail time for Avon Lake woman

ELYRIA — An Avon Lake woman who collided with a cyclist in May 2019, then engaged in what her victim said was a cover-up by fleeing the scene, lying about what she hit and trying to have her car repaired before police could find it, avoided jail and prison time when sentenced in Lorain County Common Pleas Court on Monday. Allison Spoerl, 23, pleaded guilty Sept. 9 to felony charges of failure to stop after an accident and tampering with evidence and misdemeanor charges of negligent assault and falsification in connection with the crash that injured Patricia "Patty" Banks, of Bay Village. On Monday, Judge John Miraldi sentenced her to one-year probation and suspended her driver's license for six months, with credit for 64 days. He ordered Spoerl to be a law-abiding citizen during her probation term and not to leave the state without the permission of the court. Over defense attorney Kenneth Lieux's objection, he also ordered Spoerl to pay restitution of $3,380 to Banks for damages to her bicycle. "It's got to be about the crimes we know are there: Leaving the scene and lying to police," Miraldi said. He pointed out that the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office even called the crash an accident and that the plea agreement worked out with Spoerl's attorney and approved by Banks and Avon Lake police specifically pointed to Spoerl's negligence the day of the crash, and not any reckless or intentional harm. Miraldi warned Spoerl that should she violate her probation, she could face a minimum of nine or up to 36 months in prison. Avon Lake police said Spoerl's 2017 Ford Focus hit Banks and her bicycle just after 4 p.m. May 15, 2019, as Banks rode east on the south side of Lake Road. Spoerl did not stop and drove away south on Moore Road with a dented roof and shattered windshield. Marcia Herwaldt, of Avon Lake, who has nursing and EMT training, stopped and rendered aid to Banks, stopping the bleeding from her severed carotid artery and likely saving her life, Banks said Monday (Herwaldt also was present in court to support Banks). Avon Lake police released photos of the hit-and-run vehicle to police and later found Spoerl's 2017 Ford Focus at an Avon body shop where it had been taken to have the damage repaired. Spoerl wasn't so much on trial for the crash as she was for her behavior after the crash: "A pattern of lying," Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Tina Kishman said in court. Spoerl called her insurance company within 15 minutes of arriving home after the crash, lied and said she hit a trash can, Kishman said. She told the same lie to her parents and Avon Lake police and also later claimed she hit a deer. Banks suffered physical, psychological and economic harm from the crash, Kishman said. A mother of three sons, Banks was a scholarship track athlete at Ohio State University and ran Iron Man triathlons before the accident. She was 6 miles from her home, riding her bike in the right-most lane as the law instructs when Spoerl hit her, she said. Banks, 54, still carries the scars from the crash, including a large one on her neck where her carotid artery was severed and lives every day with pain in her pelvis and limited range of motion in one of her shoulders. "Honestly, this whole thing ... has never been about Allison hitting me with her car. It's always been about the repeated selfish decisions she made that day and the days following the event," Banks told Miraldi during her victim impact statement. "If she had just stopped, just stopped after she hit me and at least called 911, I would have said 'It's okay Allison.' I would have been the very first person to forgive her." Instead, Spoerl made up the lie about the trash can, she said. "I am not trash," Banks said. "I am a person that a lot of people love." Spoerl showed "no respect or the law or authority," Banks said. Had Herwaldt not stopped to render aid, "I would have bled to death," she said. While awaiting trial, Spoerl got her driving privileges back, which Banks said upset her even more. "I've been imprisoned by all this for 30 months," Banks said, "so I would ask that she (Spoerl) see some jail time to be away from loved ones and to truly consider her actions." Kishman also asked Miraldi to give Spoerl jail time and suspend her driver's license for at least three years. In court filings, Lieux argued Spoerl had the right of way at the time of the crash. A crash reconstruction report commissioned by the defense from Introtech of Grafton stating that Spoerl's car was making a left turn onto Moore Road when Banks rode straight through the intersection at an estimated 18 mph. Ohio law treats bicycles as motor vehicles, Lieux said in court. That means cyclists must abide by the same road rules as cars, and he argued that Banks was not in the proper lane and failed to yield to traffic. "It's worth noting and the physical evidence shows that Miss Banks did not adhere to her own legal obligation," Lieux said. Spoerl, he said, has "no criminal history whatsoever" in her past and has accepted responsibility for her mistakes and actions on the day of the crash. Leaving the scene of the crash was "a grievous error," Lieux said. Spoerl had just finished an 8-hour clinical shift at Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital for Rehabilitation Therapy Services in Westlake when the crash occurred. She also has suffered from anxiety disorder since fifth grade and was in treatment at the time of the crash. That, according to Lieux and a sentencing memorandum he filed with the court, triggered a "fight or flight" response in a "panicked" young woman. Her Ohio Risk Assessment System score of "1," which measures a defendant's likelihood for committing further criminal offenses, is among the lowest Lieux and Miraldi said they had ever seen for a defendant. "For the state to stand up and say she's a danger on the road because she's anxious, there's no substance" to that argument, Lieux said. Spoerl read a letter to Banks out loud in court. "To Miss Banks: I am extremely sorry for what has happened and the circumstance you are now in," Spoerl told Banks. "I have been concerned about your condition since day one and I wanted to write this letter but I didn't know how to reach out to you until a few days ago. Please know I did not mean to hit you ... I was inattentive and should have seen you before I turned but I didn't. There is no excuse for me leaving you at the scene and not checking on your well-being. "I am (appalled) at my actions. I know my parents did not raise me this way. I take full responsibility for my actions and the consequences I will be facing. I am guilt-ridden and fear that (there) is no way I can ever repay you for my actions. I just hope and pray every day you are getting better. I pray for your well being as well as praying for a recovery. I hope you forgive me for everything but I understand you cannot," Spoerl said. Spoerl told the court she didn't remember anything about the accident and only remembered pulling into her driveway. She has received trauma therapy to try and figure out why she blocked out the events, she told Miraldi. Since the crash, Spoerl received her bachelor's degree from the University of Toledo and is in graduate-level speech pathology classes there, she told the court. Miraldi said Spoerl wasn't "evil or callous." "I see somebody who panicked," he said. Following the sentencing hearing, Banks said she didn't believe Spoerl's apology. "I think she's sorry she got caught," Banks said. "She was trying to cover everything up ... She hasn't learned the lessons you're supposed to learn as a little kid." Patty Banks and her son, David, have filed a lawsuit against Spoerl and her father, James, seeking more than $25,000 in damages. That suit is assigned to Judge Mark Betleski's court. Along with the severed carotid artery, severe neck and facial cuts, Patty Banks also had bleeding on her brain, two punctured lungs, pelvic fractures, a knee injury, cuts, scrapes and nerve damage, according to her lawsuit. Dozens of people turned out for Monday's hearing in support of Banks, so many that court officials had to find another courtroom where they could watch the hearing remotely. Banks thanked all of them in court, saying "their continued love and support is so humbling." Many cyclists have turned out for court hearings in support of Banks since the crash, and Bike Cleveland posted photos of her supporters holding signs outside the Lorain County Justice Center on its Facebook page Monday. "The decidedly light sentencing points again to the need for vulnerable road user laws in Ohio," the group wrote. And though she said she will never ride her bike on a roadway again, Banks asked motorists to be on the lookout and "keep your eyes open for cyclists."