Man sentenced in fatal crash case

Editor’s note: the maximum license suspension in this case is two years. It was incorrectly stated as three years but has since been corrected.

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

An out-of-state man who caused a fatal accident that claimed the lives of two Van Wert County men last October was sentenced in Van Wert Municipal Court Wednesday afternoon.

Timothy Kiester, 61, of Berrien Springs, Michigan, appeared before Judge Jill T. Worthington and was ordered to serve 90 days in jail on each of two counts of vehicular manslaughter, both second degree misdemeanors. The jail terms will be served immediately and concurrently, meaning a total of 90 days in jail.

In addition, his driver’s license was suspended for two years, retroactive to January 14, the date when Kiester entered his plea. He was also fined $750 on each of the two counts of vehicular manslaughter and was fined an additional $150 on a single count of assured clear distance.

The maximum penalty on each vehicular manslaughter charge was up to 90 days in jail, a $750 fine and a mandatory license suspension of six months to two years.

All three charges were tied to a fatal crash that occurred October 21 on U.S. 127 near Hickory Sticks Golf Course in Van Wert. 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.

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