Champaign County man sentenced for drunken crash that killed student

The man who was drunk when he caused a traffic accident that killed a 15-year-old Graham High School student was sentenced Monday morning to 10 years in prison.

Dylan Lambert, 27, pleaded guilty last month to aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular assault in Champaign County Common Pleas Court. Champaign County Judge Nick Selvaggio sentenced Lambert to five years in prison for each count, to be served consecutively.

MORE: Graham student death: Champaign County man pleads guilty

Sara Hess was killed Nov. 3. A crash report obtained by the Springfield News-Sun indicated Hess was a passenger in a 2006 Honda Accord driven by 17-year-old Gabe Wier, who was was attempting to make a left hand turn off Ohio 235 when his car was rear-ended by a 1997 Honda Civic driven by Lambert.

“(Lambert) struck (Wier) in the right rear, forcing (Wier) off the roadway to the left,” the report stated. “(Wier) struck a ditch, which caused the vehicle to roll over and came to a final rest on its tires.”

The report stated Lambert was trying to pass the Accord at the time of the crash and crossed a double yellow line to do so. It also said Champaign County deputies suspected Lambert of being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.

READ: Alcohol suspected in Graham student crash death: What we know now

The crash report said Lambert tested at a .232 level of alcohol, which is almost three times Ohio’s 0.08 legal limit for driving.

Court documents obtained by the Springfield News-Sun show Lambert pleaded guilty on June 6. He was facing 10 charges in connection with the crash, including operating motor vehicle under influence of alcohol, aggravated vehicular homicide and vehicular assault, according to court records.

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