Man guilty in deadly West Chester pedestrian crash
May 10—Nearly two years after Sherry Berna Haywood was fatally struck while walking on a West Chester Twp. road, the man behind the wheel has been convicted.
Miguel Gomez-Alvarez, who was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, OVI and failure to stop after an accident, was found guilty on all counts Thursday afternoon in Butler County Common Pleas Court after a four-day jury.
Judge Noah Powers II set sentencing for June 17. Gomex-Alvarez faces a maximum of 22 years in prison.
Litigation of the case was slowed when Garcia-Alvarez was declared incompetent to stand trial because his Hispanic heritage made him incapable of understanding the legal system in the United States, according to prosecutors.
Two months later he was restored to competency after instruction at the jail. Gomez-Alvarez remains in the Butler County Jail in lieu of a $250,000 bond.
On May 29, 2022, Berna Haywood was killed after she was struck by a vehicle while walking on Muhlhauser Road just west of Ohio 747. The driver of the vehicle left the scene, but after a two — month investigation, a suspect was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide.
The 32-year-old Gomez-Alvarez was indicted by a Butler County grand jury on July 20, accused of hitting Haywood with his SUV, killing her, then leaving the scene.
A security guard called West Chester Police after finding the 46-year-old Cincinnati woman. She was dead at the scene. Haywood died of multiple traumatic injuries, according to the Butler County Coroner's Office.
Prosecutors said Gomez-Alvarez of Springdale had consumed alcohol and was driving without obtaining a license when he hit Haywood and fled. The badly damaged SUV was found by a West Chester police officer on June 2 at The Willows Apartment Complex off Chesterdale Drive in Springdale.
