Thursday, February 27th, 2020
Man sentenced to sanctions for hit-and-run
By Sydney Albert
CELINA - A Montezuma man has been sentenced to two years of community control sanctions for failing to stop after the car he was driving struck and seriously injured a pedestrian in September.
The sanctions prohibit Harold E. Bashore, 70, from using alcohol or drugs and require him to adhere to a 9 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew. His license also was suspended for six months.
Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Ingraham said Wednesday it had been found during the court's presentence investigation that a prison term would not have been consistent with the state's goals but that Bashore was amenable to community control sanctions.
The presentence investigation concluded that Bashore had been a law-abiding citizen for many years prior to the offense, Ingraham said. Additionally, the offense had occurred under circumstances that were unlikely to recur, and Bashore reportedly had shown genuine remorse.
Bashore was arrested in late September after reportedly failing to yield the right of way and striking a pedestrian at the intersection of Logan and South Main streets in Celina before fleeing the scene.
James M. Farmer, the pedestrian who was struck, suffered serious physical harm, according to Bashore's indictment. Celina police reported Farmer was thrown to the asphalt and suffered a serious head injury. Farmer was transported to Mercer County Community Hospital, Coldwater, and later flown to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where he received extensive treatment, according to Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Erin Minor.
Bashore pleaded guilty to a fifth-degree felony charge of failure to stop after an accident in January. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop a minor misdemeanor charge of a right-of-way violation.
During his sentencing, Bashore addressed the court, saying he would think about the accident for the rest of his life and that he wished he had stopped that day.
"I'm sorry it happened. There's not a moment it doesn't cross my mind," he said.
If Bashore violates the terms of his community control sanctions, he could face 10 months in prison.
