Man gets 3 years for role in Putnam County crash

9/18/2012

OTTAWA, Ohio — A Delphos, Ohio man who fled the scene of a crash leading to the death of a Putnam County man who came to help was sentenced Monday to three years in prison.

Dylan Brinkman, 26, had pleaded no contest last month to failing to stop after an accident. Prosecutors had recommended he receive six months in jail and three years probation as part of a plea agreement, but Putnam County Common Pleas Judge Randall Basinger rejected that recommendation, saying Brinkman represented “an incredible risk to others.”

Brinkman reportedly was intoxicated when he crashed into a utility pole on State Rt. 114 on Jan. 14, severing the pole and bringing down power lines. While he fled on foot, a neighbor, Michael E. Feldman, 42, of rural Cloverdale, drove to the scene to offer assistance. Mr. Feldman was killed by electric shock when he stepped on a live wire as he walked toward Brinkman’s vehicle.