Driver sentenced in fatal crash

A local woman was found guilty and sentenced to probation and community service for her role in a woman’s death in a crash on Interstate 70 last December.

Tammy Atha, 21, of 1240 Selma Road, was charged with vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter and assured cleared distance at the time of the accident, which killed Muriel Faulkner, 72, of Urbana.

Clark County Municipal Court Prosecutor Mike Sheils said Atha pleaded no contest to the vehicular homicide charge in exchange for dropping the other charges.

Atha reportedly rear-ended a vehicle on Interstate 70 at mile marker 54 near the Ohio 72 exit on Dec. 22. Faulkner, a rear passenger in the vehicle, died.

Faulkner, a retired school teacher and graduate of Urbana High School and Capitol University, died Dec. 23 at Miami Valley Hospital, according to a Walter and Smith Funeral Home obituary.

Atha was sentenced last week to 24 months of driver’s license suspension, 90 days of jail with 60 days suspended, 24 months of probation and 60 days community service, according to court records. She already served 30 days in jail, and she was fined $750.

Atha’s attorney, Charles Ricketts, was unavailable for comment.

About the Author