St. Marys man gets 6 years in fatal crash

WAPAKONETA - A St. Marys man will spend up to six years in prison for his involvement in a 2015 traffic accident that claimed the life of a 16-year-old.

Garret M. Hale, 19, 116 Parkway Court, on Thursday was sentenced to six years by Judge Frederick Pepple in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court for a second-degree felony count of aggravated vehicular homicide. He also was sentenced to 36 months in prison for tampering with evidence, third-degree felony, and 180 days in jail and a $375 fine for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, first degree misdemeanor. His jail time will run concurrently with his prison sentence.

The sentence also includes post-release control of three years and operator's license suspended for 50 years. Hale will be eligible to apply for judicial release under current law once he serves 80 percent of the six-year prison term, Pepple said.

The prison sentence was double the three-year recommendation from the state that Auglaize County Assistant Prosecutor Andrew Ausburger presented in court.

Noah I. Weber, Buckland, was a front-seat passenger in the 1998 Dodge pickup truck driven by Hale during the Nov. 8, 2015, accident. Weber reportedly was partially ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. Hale was not injured, according to the report at the Ohio State Highway Patrol Wapakoneta post.

Weber's mother, Carrie Mills, was present in court Thursday and was given time to speak before Pepple issued the sentencing.

Mills appeared to fight back tears for several minutes as she read a prepared statement. She last saw him on Nov. 6 and last spoke to him on the phone on Nov. 7. His last words to her were "I love you too, Mom," as they ended their phone call, she said.

Since Weber's death, Mills has had anxiety attacks and struggles with fear, she said.

Mills said she had received 53 letters of encouragement from Weber's classmates with many saying he was a good friend to those who may not have had many.

"I had hopes and I had dreams for him. Noah would've been an amazing man," Mills said.

She then addressed Hale directly and said she cannot forgive him for what he did to her son.

"I know that if Noah would've been driving that vehicle, he would have been at your mom's doorstep. I would have been at your mom's doorstep, but I got nothing, nothing, and for that I will never forgive you," Mills said.

Hale took a long pause before addressing the court for his actions.

"It haunts me every night seeing my best friend trapped underneath the truck," he said. "I truly am sorry for everything that's happened. It was a really big accident."

Hale said Weber was like a little brother to him, and they were just trying to have fun.

"Nothing I say can take away the pain from the family. You were the driver. You were the older one. You had the responsibility for the safety of the passengers," Pepple said.  

Hale entered a plea agreement on Oct. 3 in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court for the three charges.

The plea agreement included the dismissal of a third-degree felony count of aggravated vehicular homicide and a count of tampering with evidence.

Hale reportedly was driving north on St. Marys River Road, south of Glynwood Road, at 1:28 p.m., when the truck traveled off the right side of the road and struck a group of trees. The vehicle reportedly continued down a steep embankment and overturned, the report stated.

Also injured was Dustyn Selhorst, Wapakoneta, who was seated in the truck's center front seat, according to reports. He was taken to Joint Township District Memorial Hospital, St. Marys, where he was treated and released.

Hale was arrested by Auglaize County Sheriff's personnel on April 27 and pleaded not guilty in common pleas court on April 28, records show.