Man charged in fatal West Chester motorcycle crash waives speedy trial, remains in jail
Nov. 29—A Cincinnati man being held on a $750,000 bond for aggravated vehicular homicide and other felonies in a fatal West Chester Twp. motorcycle crash that killed a mother of three waived his speedy trial rights Tuesday in Butler County Common Pleas Court.
Samuel Ankrah, 38, was taken into custody after the crash that happened about 1:35 a.m. Sept. 10 on Ohio 747 near Duff Drive. He was initially charged with impaired driving, hit-skip/leaving the scene of an accident and not maintaining assured clear distance, in addition to aggravated vehicular homicide.
On Sept. 15, Ankrah was indicted for aggravated vehicular homicide, alleging he did not have a valid driver's license at the time of the incident, aggravated vehicular assault, failure to stop after an accident — all felonies — and operating a vehicle under the influence, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Judge Dan Haughey increased Ankrah's bond at arraignment. It was set at $200,000 in lower court.
Ankrah has appeared in court three times but pretrial hearings were continued. On Tuesday, he waived time and the pretrial hearing was scheduled for Jan. 9. In Ohio, if a person is incarcerated they must be tried in 90 days if they do not waive their speedy trial rights.
According to West Chester Police, Ankrah was driving a Mazda southbound on Ohio 747 when he struck a Harley Davidson motorcycle in the rear-end collision.
West Chester Police said in court documents that Ankrah "admitted to officers that he consumed alcoholic beverages" before the crash.
Jessica Taleff, 27, a passenger on the motorcycle died at the scene. The Butler County Coroner's Office said Taleff died of multiple traumatic injuries.
Taleff's husband, Galen, was driving the motorcycle and was injured in the crash. Jessica Taleff leaves behind three young children.
