Man sentenced in OVI crash that killed 5-week-old girl, disabled sister in Sugarcreek Twp.
Dec. 21—A Dayton man who was driving 100 mph when he slammed into the back of a local military family's minivan, killing their 5-week-old-daugher and permanently disabling their eldest daughter in May 2021, was sentenced Wednesday to 15 to 19 years in prison.
Samuel Vernon Lawson, 33, previously pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide, four counts of aggravated vehicular assault and a misdemeanor OVI count. As part of his plea agreement, 12 additional charges were dismissed, according to Greene County Common Pleas Court records.
Lawson was driving a 2015 Ford Edge around 9 p.m. May 23, 2021, north on Interstate 675 in Sugarcreek Twp. when he rear-ended a 2021 Honda Odyssey stopped in a construction zone due to traffic, according to a crash report filed by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The impact shoved the Odyssey into the rear of a 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage before the Honda went off the left side of the road into the median. The Edge and Mirage both spun, colliding as they came to a stop facing the wrong way, the crash report stated.
The 5-week-old, Faye Louise White, was flown via CareFlight to Dayton Children's Hospital, where she died days later.
Two people suffered serious injuries, including a 10-year-old girl who has permanent disabilities, and five people were taken to hospitals with suspected minor injuries, including Lawson and a 7-year-old boy, according to the crash report.
Lawson was traveling at around 100 mph at the time of the crash, and blood testing later found his blood alcohol content was over four times the state's 0.08 legal driving limit, prosecutors said.
