A Geauga County grand jury has indicted a Portage County man on two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide on other charges in connection with the March 30 death of an Amish man in Burton Township.
Douglas S. Learn, 42, is also charged with three counts each of aggravated vehicular assault and vehicular assault, one count of failure to stop after an accident, two counts of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and one count of driving under suspension. All charges except for the DUI are felonies of either the first, second or third degree. The DUI charges are first-degree misdemeanors.
The 12-count indictment was filed in the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas at 8:54 a.m. Wednesday.
If convicted on the most serious charge, he faces 11 years in prison, a $20,000 fine and a lifetime Ohio driver’s license suspension, Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz said Wednesday.
Prosecutors say Learn, of 10039 State Route 700, was driving a 2003 white SUV shortly before 9 p.m. March 30 on Tavern Road, just west of the Route 700 intersection.
Learn’s vehicle slammed into the back of an Amish buggy carrying Eli and Esther Blyer, and their three adult children, Joseph E., Irene and Alma. He was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. His blood-alcohol level was .089 when it was taken at the Geauga County Safety Center about two hours after the accident.
Learn left the scene after he struck the Bylers’ buggy and continued east on Tavern Road before turning south onto Route 700. But his SUV broke down less than a mile from the accident as a result of damage from the crash.
He told state troopers he had fallen asleep and wasn’t aware that he had been involved in an accident.
Despite alcohol being cited as a factor in the fatal crash, Lt. Mark Neff of the state patrol, told the Maple Leaf in March that Learn was not arrested following the crash.
Instead, he was released to the custody of his mother later that evening.
Joseph E. Byler, 28, of Troy Township, was pronounced dead from his injures at University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center in Claridon Township shortly before 9:45 p.m. March 30.
His 19-year-old sister, Alma, was flown by medical helicopter to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland for “precaution,” the state patrol said.
His mother, Esther, and sister Irene, 23, were taken to UH Geauga Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries. They were treated and released. His father, Eli Byler, who was driving the buggy, refused treatment on scene.
Flaiz requested a meeting with Neff on March 31 and instructed the state patrol to charge Learn with aggravated vehicular homicide and obtain a search warrant for his immediate arrest.
Chardon Municipal Court Judge Terri Stupica signed the warrant that afternoon and state troopers arrested Learn shortly thereafter.
Learn made an initial appearance in Chardon Municipal Court on April 1 to answer to the charges. Citing Learn’s prior records, which included a 2013 conviction for hit/skip in Portage County, Stupica set bond at $75,000 cash or surety bond.
He remains in jail at the Geauga County Safety Center.
No arraignment date has been set.