FRANKLIN — A Trenton nurse who is said to suffer from a disorder that causes him to drop off to sleep without warning pleaded no contest Tuesday to a reduced charge in the death of a 15-year-old bicyclist.

        Daryl Ohair, 35, faces up to 90 days in jail when he is sentenced in Franklin Municipal Court in about a month on a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter.

        He told police he believes he fell asleep at the wheel when he drove onto the shoulder of westbound Ohio 73 near Baxter Drive on Nov. 6 and struck James R. “Jay” Brinegar, a vocational-school student from Franklin who was on his way to a skating arena with a friend.

        Defense attorney Christopher Atkins said he negotiated with the city prosecutor to reduce the offense from vehicular homicide after doctors diagnosed Mr. Ohair with narcolepsy. The neurological disorder is marked by uncontrollable sleep attacks and loss of muscle control.

        A charge of vehicular homicide does not apply because it requires a defendant to be criminally negligent, Mr. Atkins said.

        “What caused the offense was him falling asleep,” Mr. Atkins said.

        In making the no-contest plea, Mr. Ohair admitted that the facts of the criminal complaint are true, but he did not admit guilt.

        Mr. Ohair, a licensed practical nurse who was working full time and taking college courses toward a registered-nursing certificate at the time of the accident, is now taking medication to control his narcolepsy, Mr. Atkins said.

        His client faced up to six months in jail, a $1,000 fine and a license suspension of one to five years if convicted of vehicular homicide, which is a higher-level misdemeanor.

        Jay Brinegar's relatives, who sat quietly in the courtroom with an attorney, said they were upset the charge was reduced and that Mr. Ohair continues to drive.

        “Granted, he has a personal life sentence he has to live with that he killed a 15-year-old boy,” said Terry Fleenor, an uncle from West Carrollton. “But there is nothing that really could be considered equal.”

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