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Motorist sentenced to prison for killing Barnesville road worker
This Week Community News ^ | May 16, 2018 | STAFF REPORT / GateHouse Ohio Media

Posted on 05/16/2018 12:39:41 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks

COLUMBUS — A motorist accused of striking and killing a road construction worker from Barnesville while driving on Interstate 70 in Franklin County last year was sentenced to five years in prison after entering an Alford plea to aggravated vehicular homicide and operating a vehicle while under the influence.

Edward Torres, 31, of South Solon, was sentenced to five years on the aggravated vehicular homicide charge and 180 days on the OVI charge with the sentences to be served concurrently for a total of five years in prison.

Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Charles Schneider also suspended Torres’ driver’s license for the balance of his lifetime, effective on the May 2 sentencing date.

Once released from prison, Torres will be subject to three years of mandatory post-release control through the Adult Parole Authority.

Torres was ordered to pay a $375 fine and court costs. The court deferred the payment until after Torres is released from prison.

The charges stem from the Sept. 30, 2017, death of 59-year-old Steve L. Cook of Barnesville.

Torres was driving east on Interstate 70 at 1:35 a.m., approaching Hilliard-Rome Road, when he drove around barricades and into a construction zone where three right lanes were closed to traffic, Assistant Prosecutor Dan Cable said.

He continued driving his 2009 Honda Odyssey past a Franklin County Sheriff’s Office cruiser that had emergency lights activated. When Torres encountered a large pavement roller in the middle of the three lanes, he swerved into the far right lane, where Cook was standing.

Torres told officers that he had glanced down at his cellphone just before his minivan struck the worker.

Cook died at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center in Columbus.

Torres had an open container of alcohol in a cup holder and told officers that he’d “had a few beers,” Cable said. A blood test determined that Torres had a blood-alcohol content of 0.19 percent — more than twice the legal limit in Ohio.

In the Alford plea, Torres pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and three OVI counts. The homicide charges and OVI charges merged for sentencing, so Torres was sentenced on only one of each charge.

In an Alford plea, a defendant professes innocence but concedes the state has sufficient evidence to get a conviction.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events; US: Ohio
KEYWORDS: barnesville; columbus; construction; dui; dwi; homicide; ohio; ovi; transportation; workzonesafety
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1 posted on 05/16/2018 12:39:41 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Five years? That seems excessive. After all, it was just an accident.

/sarc


2 posted on 05/16/2018 12:42:41 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

[ Torres was driving east on Interstate 70 at 1:35 a.m., approaching Hilliard-Rome Road, when he drove around barricades and into a construction zone where three right lanes were closed to traffic, Assistant Prosecutor Dan Cable said.

He continued driving his 2009 Honda Odyssey past a Franklin County Sheriff’s Office cruiser that had emergency lights activated. When Torres encountered a large pavement roller in the middle of the three lanes, he swerved into the far right lane, where Cook was standing.

Torres told officers that he had glanced down at his cellphone just before his minivan struck the worker.

Cook died at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center in Columbus.

Torres had an open container of alcohol in a cup holder and told officers that he’d “had a few beers,” Cable said. A blood test determined that Torres had a blood-alcohol content of 0.19 percent — more than twice the legal limit in Ohio. ]

Good gosh.


3 posted on 05/16/2018 12:45:02 PM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Here it’s 25....................


4 posted on 05/16/2018 12:45:06 PM PDT by Red Badger (Remember all the great work Obama did for the black community?.............. Me neither.)
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To: All
More construction zone mayhem from May 7.
5 posted on 05/16/2018 12:56:26 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks ( The US Constitution ....... Invented by geniuses and God .... Administered by morons ......)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Not only drunk, but driving with total disregard for other people’s lives.


6 posted on 05/16/2018 1:01:51 PM PDT by Mr Ramsbotham (Laws against sodomy are honored in the breech.)
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To: Mr Ramsbotham
Not only drunk, but driving with total disregard for other people’s lives.

Is there a difference?

7 posted on 05/16/2018 1:10:15 PM PDT by bankwalker (Immigration without assimilation is an invasion.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Dumbassery that rises to the level of criminality.


8 posted on 05/16/2018 1:10:30 PM PDT by Sans-Culotte (Time to get the US out of the UN and the UN out of the US!)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Problem is, there is no end to arrogant drivers that think nothing of doing things like driving on the shoulder of the road to get ahead of everyone else in slowed down traffic.

He should have gotten a lot more time. After all, the guy he killed had no more left at all.


9 posted on 05/16/2018 1:16:00 PM PDT by metmom ( ...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith..)
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To: metmom

How long until we can start sending texters to prison. We effectively already have driverless cars.


10 posted on 05/16/2018 1:18:32 PM PDT by hopespringseternal
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To: hopespringseternal

I doubt if texting was the problem, based on the description of what happened.

What should be outlawed is the driving under influence


11 posted on 05/16/2018 1:32:32 PM PDT by Balding_Eagle ( The Great Wall of Trump ---- 100% sealing of the border. Coming soon.)
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To: Responsibility2nd

Idiots like this should be executed on the side of the road.

L


12 posted on 05/16/2018 1:34:08 PM PDT by Lurker (President Trump isn't our last chance. President Trump is THEIR last chance.)
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To: bankwalker

“Not only drunk, but driving with total disregard for other people’s lives.”

He repeated himself redundantly as deja vue all over again. Not only that but he said the same thing twice while replicating the same meaning. I say dittos to that.


13 posted on 05/16/2018 1:36:40 PM PDT by Combat_Liberalism
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Maybe “Big Bubba” in prison can extract some justice from this POS.


14 posted on 05/16/2018 1:41:11 PM PDT by lgjhn23 (It's easy to be liberal when you're dumber than a box of rocks.)
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To: Balding_Eagle
Driving Under Influence is already "outlawed".
15 posted on 05/16/2018 1:45:36 PM PDT by HotHunt
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To: metmom

I would have given him 10 years.


16 posted on 05/16/2018 1:48:40 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks ( The US Constitution ....... Invented by geniuses and God .... Administered by morons ......)
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To: Balding_Eagle
What should be outlawed is the driving under influence

I agree! Oh, wait . . .

17 posted on 05/16/2018 1:49:32 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks ( The US Constitution ....... Invented by geniuses and God .... Administered by morons ......)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

I wonder how many labels drunk driving has - OVI, DWI, DUI. Why can’t it be universal? After all, isn’t everything better because of diversity?


18 posted on 05/16/2018 2:42:54 PM PDT by Thank You Rush
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To: Lurker

I’m wit ya dere L man. GD ridiculous.


19 posted on 05/16/2018 4:54:09 PM PDT by Hardastarboard (Three most annoying words on the internet - "Watch the Video")
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

With a surname like Torres, I was looking to see if he will be deported to Mexico after his prison sentence is up! That’s usually what we read in these drunk driving posts.


20 posted on 05/16/2018 7:40:44 PM PDT by vette6387
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