Man gets jail for 2023 turnpike crash

SANDUSKY — A Lakewood man will avoid prison after causing a serious injury crash on the Ohio Turnpike in 2023. Maxwell M. Prexta, 27, of the 2000 block of Mars Ave., Lakewood, Ohio, was originally indicted with third-degree felony aggravated vehicular assault and two misdemeanor counts of OVI. He pleaded guilty in March to an amended fourth-degree felony count of vehicular assault and one of the OVI counts. The other OVI count was dismissed by the state. The defense and state jointly agreed to a one-year prison sentence, according to court documents. At a Wednesday sentencing hearing, Erie County Common Pleas Court Judge Tygh Tone sentenced Prexta to 30 days in county jail with five years of community control. If he violates community control, he could face a prison sentence of six to 18 months. He was fined more than $1,000. His operator's license was suspended for two years from the date of the offense. That means he could get his license reinstated halfway through October. The crash At approximately 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 16, 2023, first responders were called to a two-vehicle crash on the Ohio Turnpike near milepost 127. That is near the western border of Florence Township in Erie County. Troopers arrived to find two cars near the median. Prexta was eastbound on the turnpike driving a Chevrolet Malibu behind a Toyota Rav 4 driven by a then 52-year-old Hudson, Ohio man, according to an Ohio State Highway Patrol report. The Rav 4 was rear-ended by Prexta's car. Both vehicles then went onto the left shoulder then struck the median wall, the report states. The victim's car then overturned. Prexta, who was not wearing a seat belt, suffered a possible injury, the report states. Both the Rav 4 driver and a passenger, a then 54-year-old Hudson woman, sustained serious injuries in the crash. Both victims were wearing seat belts, according to the report. The airbags in both vehicles deployed. Both victims were transported to Lorain Mercy Hospital for treatment. Prexta provided a urine sample after he was arrested for OVI. The sample showed his blood alcohol level was more than four-and-a-half times the legal limit. He began serving his jail sentence immediately after sentencing and has an expected release date of July 10.