The driver of the car, Elizabeth Ann Marie Mehl, 30, of Corwin Avenue in Hamilton was originally charged with OVI and child endangering, both misdemeanors, and felony drug abuse. There were two children, ages 10 and 3, in the car at the time of the crash, according to Hamilton police.
At the request of the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office, the misdemeanor charges against Mehl were dismissed in Hamilton Municipal Court to avoid possible double jeopardy issues because the continuing crash investigation could have resulted in more serious charges at the common pleas court level.
On Wednesday, a Butler County grand jury indicted Mehl on one charge of aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony. She is free on bond and scheduled to be arraigned in Butler County Common Pleas Court on Aug. 23.
Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser said there wasn’t enough evidence for an indictment on charges connected to the pedestrian crash.
“We did not have the evidence to prove she was under the influence at the time of the collision,” Gmoser said. “That’s because all the analysis we had was urine, not blood, and the expert opinion was he could not say that the she was under any degree of influence under the law.”
The prosecutor said if he would go to trial with the evidence they had, “I would automatically lose.”
Gmoser said the only admissible evidence in the case is that the child ran into the street and he was struck, and “that could happen to anybody.”
“It is unfortunate, but is does happen, that’s why the speed limit is 25 (mph) in residential areas,” he said.
He added, “we just did not have the evidence, but we wanted to explore it, which we did with a second review (by a second expert).”
Hamilton police say a bag of pills was found in the seat of Mehl’s car, which led to the drug charge.
Mehl’s attorney, Jonathan Fox, last month requested she be removed from GPS monitor and house arrest, arguing there is a costly fee for the monitor and she has three children and a job.
“The OVI charge has been dismissed. There is no indication of alcohol involvement, and Ms. Mehl voluntarily provided a urine sample that has been sent to a laboratory for analysis,” Fox said in the motion. “Counsel has been advised that the state has received the lab results. The State of Ohio has obtained a continuance of the grand jury in that matter and has until Sept. 14, 2021 to present the case to grand jury.”
Butler County Common Pleas Judge Michael Oster denied the bond modification..
In June, a grand jury declined to indict 26-year-old Cincinnati woman, who was a second woman charged in connection to the fatal crash.
Hortencia Garcia was charged with tampering with evidence, a felony, for allegedly retrieving cash from a car after the crash and hiding it in her bra. She stopped because she knew the driver.
Gmoser said Garcia should never have been charged because the facts in the case did not support the charge because she had permission to retrieve items from the car.
“There was a failure of communication between the investigating officers on the case resulting in somebody being charged that should not have been,” Gmoser said.
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