N.Y. man avoids stretch in prison

CELINA - A 65-year-old New York man who caused a fatal accident earlier this year avoided a stretch in prison when he was sentenced on Friday morning to jail time, house arrest, a fine and court fees.

Adil Sabanagic last month pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide, a third degree felony. Six misdemeanor charges were dismissed as part of a negotiated plea agreement.

Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Ingraham ordered Adil Sabanagic to serve 30 days in the Mercer County jail, followed by 60 days house arrest at his residence in Utica, New York, with electronic monitoring.

Sabanagic must also pay a $2,500 fine and court costs. His driver's license was suspended for a minimum of three years.

Should Sabanagic fail to comply with community control sanctions he may face a prison sentence of up to 60 months, Ingraham pointed out.

Atsushi Tanaka, Sidney, was killed in a crash at 6:49 a.m. Jan. 6 at the intersection of State Route 29 and Harris Road, according to a news release from the Mercer County Sheriff's Office.

A preliminary investigation found Tanaka was driving a 2021 Honda Accord westbound on State Route 29 behind a 2016 Volvo semitrailer driven by Sabanagic.

Sabanagic reportedly was slowing or stopped in traffic to turn south onto Harris Road, but missed his turn and began backing up his semitrailer to make the turn. The trailer blocked part of the roadway.

Tanaka's Honda Accord struck the back of the semitrailer before his car traveled off the north side of the roadway, down a ditch, through a fence and into a pond where it was submerged.

The Celina Fire Department dive team was called to assist with the rescue, but Tanaka was pronounced dead at the scene. The dive team had to pull the car out of the water to reach Tanaka because the high water pressure prevented team members from opening the car's door, sheriff Jeff Grey had said.

County prosecutor Matt Fox on Friday argued for a sentence of incarceration.

Fox said Sabanagic had led a law-abiding life prior to the accident. And as Fox understands, Sabanagic, due to the nature of the offense, will be unable to become insured to drive trucks in the future.

However, because of the "terrible results with regard to the death of Mr. Tanaka because of the defendant's action, some punishment or redress is appropriate," Fox said.

Ohio law, Fox noted, recognizes the offense as a third degree felony which carries significant potential prison time. Moreover, the act Sabanagic committed was reckless, not a mere accident, Fox added.

When Sabanagic on Jan. 6 missed the turn from State Route 29 onto Harris Road, he chose not to drive further and turn around at the next intersection or pull into the berm to consult a map, Fox said.

Rather, Fox said Sabanagic backed up his truck, causing the trailer to block both lanes of westbound State Route 29, in the dark with poor lighting.

"Those choices in sum lead to this reckless act and senseless death of Mr. Tanaka," Fox said.

Friday's proceedings necessitated the use of translators as Sabanagic's primary language is Bosnian. Furthermore, Tanaka's family members viewed the event via Zoom from their home in Japan.

Court officials attempted to access a foreign language interpreter by phone through the Ohio Supreme Court. With no Bosnian interpreters available, court officials, with the consent of counsel from both sides, resorted to using Sabanagic's son-in-law present at the proceeding, Osman Delanovic, after administering him an oath.

Representatives from Celina Aluminum Precision Technology, where Tanaka was employed, assisted at Friday's session. One employee, speaking by cellphone to the victim's family members watching overseas, translated into Japanese statements made in court.

Another read victim impact statements from Tanaka's wife and parents to the court.

Delanovic and the CAPT employees simultaneously engaged in translation as Sabanagic, addressing the Japanese attendees on Zoom, expressed his remorse and apologized for the accident, the loss of life and the emotional impact on the family.