Driver in fatal crash to be sentenced

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

A man accused of causing a fatal accident that claimed the lives of two Van Wert County men last fall is scheduled to be sentenced this Wednesday.

Timothy Kiester, 61, of Berrien Springs, Michigan, will be sentenced at 1 p.m. in Van Wert Municipal Court. He was convicted on two counts of vehicular manslaughter, both second degree misdemeanors, after pleading no contest during a hearing held on January 14. The maximum penalty on each charge is up to 90 days in jail, a $750 fine and a mandatory license suspension of six months to three years.

The charges are tied to a fatal crash that occurred October 21 on U.S. 127 near Hickory Sticks Golf Course in Van Wert. According to a report from the Van Wert Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Kiester was operating a 2016 Cheverolet Silverado that was hauling a camper, when he allegedly failed to maintain assured clear distance ahead. His truck struck the rear of a 2016 Ford Focus driven by Zachary J. Wood, 30, of Convoy. The impact forced Wood’s car into the path of a semi-truck driven by Christopher Poland, 33, of Niles.

Wood and a passenger, Logan G. Elder, 29, of Van Wert, were pronounced dead at the scene.