Vehicular homicide case delayed again

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

PAULDING — There’s been another delay in the trial of a Paulding woman accused of hitting and killing a boy while he was riding his bicycle.

The aggravated vehicular homicide trial of Cynthia Switzer, 46, was originally scheduled to begin on Monday, but it was delayed after her attorney filed a late motion to suppress and a Daubert motion, which generally seeks to exclude the testimony of an expert witness.

Records from the Paulding County Clerk of Courts Office show Switzer and her attorney, E. Charles Cates, are seeking to suppress tests of Switzer’s coordination and/or alcohol and/or drug levels. The motion also calls into question seven other potential factors, including the chain of custody of a urine test, a possible link between alcohol test results and diabetes, which Switzer has, plus numerous body cam recordings.

The suppression hearing and Daubert motion were scheduled for Monday, in place of the start of the trial, but Cates filed a motion for a continuance because a LabCorp employee scheduled to testify was unavailable. Retired Wood County Judge Reeve W. Kelsey, who presiding over the case, granted the request and rescheduled the hearing for July 8. A new trial date was not set.

The second degree felony charge against Switzer is tied to the September 4, 2023 death of Ross Erwin Myers, 12, who was riding his bike on County Road 103, south of County Road 124 in Paulding Township when he was hit from behind and killed.

Test results show Switzer’s blood alcohol content was more than three times the legal limit at the time of the accident. She was arrested at her home by deputies without incident and was booked into the Paulding County Jail on Friday, October 13, more than five weeks after the incident. She posted a $10,000 bond the following day and was ordered to consume no alcoholic beverages.

If convicted, Switzer faces a mandatory prison sentence of 2-8 years, a fine of up to $15,000 and a mandatory license suspension for life.