Killing someone while driving drunk in Ohio may soon lead to more prison time, higher fine

Erin Glynn, Columbus Dispatch
·1 min read
An Ohio bill to increase the penalties for people who kill someone while driving intoxicated is headed to the Senate.
An Ohio bill to increase the penalties for people who kill someone while driving intoxicated is headed to the Senate.

Killing someone while driving drunk in Ohio may soon result in higher fines and more prison time.

A bill to increase the penalties for people who kill someone while driving intoxicated passed the Ohio House Wednesday and is headed to the Senate.

House Bill 37 creates a new system that increases the mandatory minimum prison time based on the number of prior offenses and their severity. For example, there would be a mandatory minimum sentence of up to eight years for an aggravated vehicular homicide if the person has no prior offenses and had a blood alcohol level between 0.08% and 0.17%.

If a person has two prior OVI offenses in the previous 20 years, they could face a sentence of up to 20 years.

Currently, the maximum fine for an aggravated vehicular homicide as the result of an OVI offense is $15,000 for someone with no prior offenses or $20,000 for someone with prior offenses.

The bill would increase all fines to $25,000.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mark Johnson, R-Chillicothe, and Rep. Kevin Miller,R-Newark, passed the Ohio House 92-0.

Rep. Johnson said he was inspired to bring the legislation forward after he was approached by two of his constituents who lost their 22-year-old daughter in an OVI accident where the other driver had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit.

Erin Glynn is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio House moves to increase penalties for driving while intoxicated