ZANESVILLE – A Zanesville man received the maximum sentence after causing a 2024 vehicle crash that resulted in the death of Kathrine Vickers of Walhonding.
Joshua Allen Samson, 34, was sentenced on two charges June 16: aggravated vehicular homicide, a second-degree felony; and OVI, a first-degree misdemeanor. He was given eight years in prison by Muskingum County Common Pleas Court Judge Kelly Cottrill.
In June 2024, local authorities responded to a crash between two pickup trucks on Ohio 16, near mile marker 12, noted an announcement from the Muskingum County Prosecutor’s Office on June 21.
One truck had front-end damage to its passenger side, which required Vickers’ extrication. She was transported to Genesis Hospital, then Grant Medical Center in Columbus, with life-threatening injuries She died one day later.
Samson was the driver of the second truck. He told police he didn’t remember what happened and had left work to pick up his child in Coshocton.
He was transported to the hospital with minor injuries by family members. There, Samson consented to a urine sample, which tested positive for marijuana, Xanax (benzodiazepine), and Suboxone (buprenorphine).
“Samson was below the legal limit for marijuana, and there is no legally defined limit for benzodiazepines or buprenorphine, therefore the OVI charge was based on the drug combination,” the release stated Samson reportedly took accountability for his actions and asked for forgiveness, the prosecutor’s office stated. “Samson acknowledged the loss he caused,” it added.
Judge Cottrill imposed the eight-year maximum based on Samson’s previous misdemeanors and a history of ignoring court orders.
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Zanesville man sentenced a year after crash that killed a Walhonding woman
Reporting by Staff Reports / Zanesville Times Recorder
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
