A Summit County judge sentenced a 23-year-old Hartville man to 7 to 10½ years in prison on June 8 for the 2025 crash that killed his passenger, 18-year-old Isabelle Grubaugh.
George Taylor had pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide and two counts of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, according to a Summit County Prosecutor’s Office news release.
Judge Jennifer Towell presided over the case. Attorneys John P. Alexander and Daniel Funk represented Taylor.
Witness said Taylor drove 100 mph in 45 mph zone
The fatal crash that killed Grubaugh occurred in the early morning hours of May 24, 2025, when Taylor drove his Volkswagen sedan into a telephone pole on state Route 241 just north of Clayben Drive.
Springfield Township police and Ohio State Highway Patrol officers arrived to find a “horrific” scene, Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Seema Misra wrote in a sentencing memorandum about the incident.
Officers found Taylor with minor injuries, while Grubaugh “suffered devastating head injuries and died at the scene of the crash,” Misra wrote.
Law enforcement discovered empty bottles of alcohol and drug paraphernalia in his vehicle and noticed that Taylor smelled of alcohol and appeared intoxicated, Misra wrote. Taylor also failed sobriety tests and registered a blood alcohol level of 0.204%. The legal limit in Ohio is 0.08%.
One witness said Taylor drove around their vehicle and nearly struck oncoming traffic. Taylor was nearing 100 mph in a 45 mph zone when he struck a utility pole after failing to navigate a bend, Misra wrote.
Bryce Buyakie is an Akron-based reporter who covers the courts and public safety for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com or on X @bryce_buyakie.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hartville man sentenced in 2025 crash that killed Isabelle Grubaugh
Reporting by Bryce Buyakie, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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By Bryce Buyakie, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
