MIDDLETOWN — At 70 years old, Charles Edgar Soule Jr. was healthy and self-sufficient, so his loved ones thought they'd have him around for years to come.

        But Mr. Soule died Saturday, 17 days after a car struck him as he stood in front of the house where he was born.

        “We got cheated,” said his son, Charles Eugene Soule, 37, of Hamilton. “Unfortunately, sometimes that's the course of things.”

        Police on Monday signed an aggravated vehicular homicide charge against Carolyn S. Little, 40, who is accused of driving the car that went off the road and struck the elder Mr. Soule in the 3100 block of Yankee Road. A conviction on that third-degree felony carries a sentence of one to five years in jail.

        Ms. Little also faces three lesser charges: driving without a license, operating without reasonable control and failure to stop after an accident involving injury. Officers say Ms. Little's blood tested positive for marijuana and another drug shortly after the crash.

        The crash occurred about 3:45 p.m. May 17. According to a police report, Ms. Little's 1993 Chevrolet Lumina was swerving erratically and went off the road's right side, striking Mr. Soule. He was standing in his driveway about 4 feet from the street. Family members said they think he was heading for his mailbox, which is across the road.

        A passer-by held the injured man's hand until para medics arrived, Mr. Soule's son said. The woman, whom Mr. Soule's son knew only as Lynn, later called the hospital to inquire about Mr. Soule's condition and tell what she knew about the crash.

        “That's tells me there are still people in the world who care,” Mr. Soule's son said.

        Ms. Little's vehicle continued down the road and crashed into Dick's Creek, about three-fourths of a mile away.

        According to her Ohio driving record, Ms. Little was convicted of driving under the influence in 1991 and 1992. She also was convicted of failure to maintain an assured clear distance in a 1998 crash, and her driver's license was expired.

        Mr. Soule, who suffered broken legs, a crushed pelvis and head trauma, never regained consciousness, his son said.

        When Mr. Soule died at Miami Valley Hospital late Saturday afternoon, he was surrounded by about a dozen loved ones.

        Besides his son, Charles Eugene, Mr. Soule is survived by a brother, Malcolm, of Monroe; two sisters, Chris Semmler of Monroe, and Joyce Kramer of Middletown; three daughters, Donna Wilkinson of Monroe, Sara Rose of Seven Mile and Sue Propps-Browning of Middletown; a nephew, Jimmy Strohman of Franklin, whom Mr. Soule had reared since his midteens; four granddaughters; and two great-granddaughters.

        Services for Mr. Soule are scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at Joseph Baker-Stevens Funeral Home, where friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. today.

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