Bond of $1.5 million set for Aurora man in crash that killed two on motorcycle
After a prosecutor requested a $1 million bond for an Aurora man charged in a crash that killed two people on a motorcycle last month, a Portage County judge upped it by $500,000.
Judge Laurie J. Pittman set a $1.5 million bond for Nicholas Anthony Monachino, 26, during his arraignment in Portage County Court of Common Pleas on Monday.
Pittman said the bond is "because of the serious nature of this offense and because of the defendant's mental health and his well-being."
The bond replaces a $250,000 bond that was previously set in Portage County Municipal Court in Ravenna. A mental health evaluation was ordered by the municipal court.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said it received a call to respond at 6:52 p.m. April 30 to Route 82 in Aurora, where a car driven by Monachino allegedly struck the rear of a motorcycle. The motorcycle's operator, Ryan J. Tucholsky, 29, and passenger, Sara R. Tartaglio, 40, were thrown from the motorcycle. Both were wearing helmets, the highway patrol said.
More: Man dies days after car struck his motorcycle in Aurora, killing a woman passenger
Tartaglio was taken to UH Twinsburg Medical Center, where she died. Tucholsky was flown by helicopter with life-threatening injuries to a hospital in Akron and died May 3.
Monachino allegedly fled the scene, but was later arrested and taken to the Portage County Jail after crashing the car on Pioneer Trail.
During the arraignment on Monday, not guilty pleas were entered to charges in a grand jury indictment, filed Friday, including two counts each of second- and third-degree felony aggravated vehicular homicide and single counts of third-degree felony failure to stop after an accident, first-degree misdemeanor operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and minor misdemeanor assured clear distance ahead.
Monachino is currently scheduled for a jury trial on July 19. A status conference and pretrial hearing is scheduled on June 28 and a pretrial hearing on July 15.
Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Bond of $1.5 million set in Aurora crash that killed two on motorcycle
