WARREN - A Linda Drive woman whose car fatally struck a 19-year-old man and who had more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in her system at the time was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide.
The charge Friday against Debra Paden also contains a specification that alcohol was involved even though investigators initially said they didn't think alcohol was a contributing factor in the March death.
There were no charges of drunken driving, which would have meant the third DUI against Paden, 48, 2341 Linda Drive N.W.
Warren police said Paden's breath test measured 0.168 blood-alcohol content, more than twice the legal limit of .08.
No date in Warren Municipal Court has been set.
Paden's car struck Joshua M. Kale, 1184 Clearview St. N.W., about 12:30 a.m. March 17 in the middle of the road in the 1000 block of Riverview Avenue. Kale was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown, where he died the next day.
Kale had celebrated his son's first birthday just days before the crash.
Assistant Warren prosecutor Traci Timko Rose said at the time that prosecutors and investigators were still analyzing whether to charge Paden with aggravated vehicular homicide because crash investigators determined the crash was not her fault. Prosecutors were awaiting a coroner's report before filing the charge.
Police said Kale was wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt and was listening to headphones while crossing the street. Timko Rose said previously that it would be difficult for prosecutors to prove that Paden was responsible for the crash because reports said Kale improperly crossed the street.
The incident was not a hit-skip, as police originally told reporters.
Reports state that despite the high blood-alcohol content, Paden was driving the posted 25 mph speed limit and was in her lane when the crash occurred. Kale was about a block from home when he crossed the street and was hit. Reports state his body was found several yards away from where he was struck.
Paden, according to court records, had two past OVI charges, one from a Jan. 30, 2004, incident in Ravenna and another Jan. 21, 2010, in Warren Township.
Court records show she pleaded guilty to amended charges of reckless operation in 2004 and was sentenced to pay a $188 fine.
An Ohio State Highway Patrol report from the 2010 incident said Paden was driving on South Leavitt Road north of Kibbler Todd Road on a motorcycle when she veered off the side of the road and struck a ditch. The motorcycle skidded and flipped before stopping in the ditch, reports state.
She was sentenced to pay a $300 fine, had her license suspended and was placed on probation until May 12 of this year.