Driver in fiery crash last year in Huber Heights that killed Tipp City man pleads guilty

Cory Allen Harbarger, 28, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to aggravated vehicular homicide, three counts of aggravated vehicular assault, two counts of failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer and one count each of tampering with evidence and possession of a fentanyl-related compound, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office. He also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of OVI.

Harbarger will be sentenced April 17.

Harbarger reportedly had methamphetamine and marijuana in his system at the time of the Jan. 24, 2023, crash in the 6600 block of Brandt Pike (state Route 201) near Chambersburg Road in Huber Heights. He had been facing two dozen charges but the other counts for which he was indicted were dismissed as part of his plea.

A Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputy spotted a white BMW reported stolen out of Clark County in the AutoZone parking lot at 5516 N. Dixie Drive in Harrison Twp. Deputies attempted to stop the car, but it eluded them, striking another vehicle as it fled, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.

A Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputy spotted a white BMW reported stolen out of Clark County in the AutoZone parking lot at 5516 N. Dixie Drive in Harrison Twp. Deputies attempted to stop the car, but it eluded them, striking another vehicle as it fled, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.

Huber Heights officers later saw the BMW crash on Brandt Pike near Chambersburg Road, according to an affidavit filed in Montgomery County Municipal Court - Eastern Division in Huber Heights.

Harbarger “continued driving erratically at which time he went left of center and struck a Jeep Cherokee, continuing southbound, striking a (Ford) F-150, which then struck a Honda Civic,” the affidavit stated.

Harbarger immediately got out of the car and ran away, but several officers found him hiding in the parking lot of a nearby business. Body-worn camera video released by Huber Heights police shows officers handcuff Harbarger in a U-Haul lot and escort him to a cruiser.

“As all of the occupants from the involved vehicles were attempting to exit their crashed vehicles, the suspect vehicle burst into flames,” the sergeant said.

Passersby helped multiple occupants escape, Huber Heights police Sgt. Josh Fosnight said previously. However, pickup driver Steven Jay Carlson, 68, of Tipp City suffered third-degree burns to the majority of his body and died Jan. 28. He was survived by his wife, two children, a granddaughter, his mother and two brothers, according to his obituary.

The Honda driver, a 24-year-old Lima man, suffered second-degree burns to his leg and also was taken to Miami Valley Hospital. A Huber Heights woman driving the Jeep that did not catch fire in the crash was taken to Kettering Health Huber - Emergency Center along with her passenger, a 5-year-old girl, for treatment of minor injuries.

Harbarger was taken to Miami Valley Hospital with minor injuries. His passenger, a Miamisburg woman, also went to Miami Valley Hospital, but with second-degree burns in addition to minor crash injuries.

Harbarger reportedly admitted to using heroin and showed signs of impairment following the crash, according to the affidavit.

He remains held on $1.5 million bail in the Montgomery County Jail.