Thursday, September 23, 1999
Deputy: Suspect minimized DUI state
Crash killed 2 on U.S. 27
BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — A Butler County sheriff's deputy testified Wednesday that Joseph Hoops claimed he was not “slobbering drunk” when his van collided with a car on U.S. 27, killing a Ross High School cheerleader and her grandfather.
Mr. Hoops, who is charged with two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, said in a courtroom hallway before his arraignment last week that he had stopped drinking 21/2 hours before the fatal late-afternoon accident Sept. 7, Deputy Jay Young said at a preliminary hearing in Hamilton Municipal Court.
“He said it was all a big misunderstanding,” Deputy Young said. “He said he was not slobbering drunk and was not weaving in and out of traffic.”
But Hamilton Prosecutor Sam Borst said Mr. Hoops' blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash was 0.25 — 21/2 times the legal limit of 0.10. Deputy Young estimated his speed at 75 mph.
After listening to evidence, Judge John Rosmarin sent the case to a Butler County grand jury. He continued Mr. Hoops' bail at $1 million.
Mr. Hoops, 36, of Hanover Township, is being held at Resolutions Jail, a minimum-security facility for nonviolent criminals, in Hamilton. He showed no emotion during the hearing and said nothing.
Missy Boling, 16, a Ross High School junior, and her grandfather, Robert Sandlin, 70, of Hamilton, died at the scene.
In addition to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, Mr. Hoops is charged with several misdemeanors.
Ray Boling, Missy's father, said it was difficult to sit through the hearing.
“I feel I need to be here for my daughter and for my father-in-law,” he said. “Every day we relive what happened.”
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