Driver in fatal Anthony Wayne crash indicted on 2 misdemeanors
11/13/2008The driver accused of causing a fatal crash on the Anthony Wayne Trail that killed two young boys was indicted Thursday by a Lucas County grand jury on two misdemeanor counts.
Theresa Holman, 56, of Toledo, was charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter, both second-degree misdemeanors. If convicted, she faces up to six months in jail.
Authorities said Ms. Holman was inbound on the Trail, just north of the Toledo Zoo, about 8:30 a.m. Oct. 20 when she lost control, crossed the median, and entered the outbound lanes, causing a chain-reaction crash. Killed in the crash were Zyeri White, 5, and his uncle, Devine Chatman, 11, who were both students at Harvard Elementary School.
Zyeri and Devine were passengers in a car that was struck by a pickup truck, sending the vehicle airborne. The car landed on its roof. The boys were taken to Toledo Hospital, where they later were pronounced dead.
Quaja Butler, 6, also was a passenger in the car driven by her mother, Quavonne Porter, 25, of 819 Lincoln Ave. Ms. Porter remains in Toledo Hospital.
According to John Weglian, chief of the criminal special units division of the Lucas County Prosecutor s office, vehicular manslaughter is charged when a driver causes the death of another while committing an ordinary traffic offense. In this case, Ms. Holman was charged with failure to control her vehicle, he said.
The grand jury chose not to indict Ms. Holman on aggravated vehicular homicide charges or vehicular homicide charges, both felonies. Mr. Weglian said that drunken driving, recklessness, or negligence would have to be involved to be indicted on the higher charges.
The prosecutor s office has requested that the case be sent back to Toledo Municipal Court, a decision that will be made by the administrative judge of the Common Pleas Court. No dates have been set.