Thursday, October 07, 1999
Driver faces eight years for hitting teen on bike
BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Mark Walters will face up to eight years in prison for striking a 13-year-old boy while driving home after a drinking binge.
A judge ruled Wednesday that Mr. Walters should have known he was putting the lives and safety of others at risk when he got behind the wheel of his Chevrolet pickup on the evening of March 2.
Prosecutors say the Lebanon man swerved off Fields-Ertel Road and struck Joshua Kostreva, who was riding his bicycle on the side of the road.
The boy, who remains paralyzed from the waist down, sat in a wheelchair throughout the trial.
Joshua's parents hugged the boy and wept as Judge Robert Kraft read his guilty verdict in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.
“The evidence is compelling, and the case is tragic,” the judge said.
Judge Kraft decided the case himself because Mr. Walters chose to have a trial without a jury. He found Mr. Walters guilty of felonious assault and will sentence him Nov. 17.
Mr. Walters' attorney, Jay Clark, argued that the assault charge should not apply because his client did not intend to injure Joshua that evening.
Under Ohio law, prosecutors must prove a defendant “knowingly” took action that could hurt someone.
Mr. Clark told the judge that several factors contributed to the collision: the road was dark, Joshua wore dark clothing, his bike was dark blue and the shoulder was narrow.
He also noted that Mr. Walters may have been significantly impaired from alcohol.
He said Mr. Walters did not see the boy on the side of the road.
“It's a tragedy, what happened here,” Mr. Clark said. “But I don't think it's right to try to fit a square peg into a round hole. ... This is not felonious assault.”
Assistant prosecutor Richard Gibson said Mr. Walters, who has five prior DUI convictions, should have known a serious accident could result from driving that night.
“Because of the criminal actions of this man, we've got a 13-year-old boy who's going to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair,” Mr. Gibson said.
“What happened to Josh Kostreva is absolutely predictable given what Mr. Walters did.”
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