Prosecutor to decide how teen will be charged in fatal crash that killed classmate

Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser said four factors will have to be considered by his office before deciding what charges, if any, will be brought against the 17-year-old driver of a fatal one-car crash.

Chynna Brandon, 17, was driving the 2013 Tesla when it veered off the right side of Millikin Road at about 6:10 p.m. Brandon over-corrected, then drove into a ditch before hitting a telephone pole, according to the accident report.

One backseat passenger, Kaylie Jackson, 17, a senior at Monroe High School, died from her injuries.

The investigation is not complete and there have been no charges or citations issued.

In determining any charges, the prosecutor’s office will consider the age of the driver, the circumstances of the crash, results of the investigation by the sheriff’s office, and the issues of law raised from that investigation, Gmoser said.

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“Those are the four points I have to look at before I make a definitive decision on the outcome with respect to whether this case stays in juvenile court and whether it goes on to a consideration in adult court,” he said.

A possible charge could be vehicular homicide, which is a misdemeanor, or aggravated vehicular homicide, which is a felony, according to Gmoser.

Jackson was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the car, according to the accident report.

Brandon and two passengers — Tanner Allford, 17, and Mitchell Foster Jr., 18 — were treated at University of Cincinnati Medical Center, then released on Sunday.

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Brandon was wearing her seat belt and she wasn’t ejected from the car, according to the report.

Foster Jr., who was sitting in the front passenger seat, was also wearing a seat belt and wasn’t ejected. He was extricated from the vehicle.

Allford, who was sitting behind the driver, was ejected, though it’s unknown whether or not he was wearing a seat belt, according to the accident report.

Detectives from the sheriff’s office used a drone this week to map the path the vehicle traveled before crashing. They will also be gathering data from the time around when the vehicle’s airbags deployed, according to Butler County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer.

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