A Haitian illegal crashes, kills a father and his 11-year-old son, and walks with 20 days.
A Haitian illegal crashes, kills a father and his 11-year-old son, and walks with 20 days.
Hurshel Gipson.
Michael Gipson, eleven years old.
Judge Tammie K. Hursh looked at that wreckage and handed out a slap on the wrist that wouldn’t even cover a DUI in most counties.
During Michel’s arraignment in March, his attorney told the court that Michel is a Haitian national seeking asylum in the United States. It was also revealed during that hearing that Michel was living in the country illegally.
On the negligent homicide conviction, Michel was sentenced to 90 days in jail, with 80 days suspended and 10 days mandatory, and fined $500.
For vehicular manslaughter, Michel was sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 170 days suspended and 10 days mandatory. Hursh ordered that mandatory term to run consecutively to the 10-day sentence for negligent homicide.
Michel’s driver’s license was also suspended for two years, through Sept. 2, 2028, and six points were assessed against his license. He was fined an additional $500 and ordered to pay court costs.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed a second count of negligent homicide, another vehicular manslaughter charge and a charge of failing to maintain assured clear distance ahead.
The charges stemmed from a Feb. 28 crash in the northbound lanes of I-75 near milepost 118 in Shawnee Township.
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, traffic was backed up shortly before 8:30 p.m. because of a vehicle fire when the tractor-trailer driven by Michel failed to yield to slowed traffic, causing a collision involving several vehicles.
The crash involved two tractor-trailers, a Buick SUV, a Ford pickup pulling a bass boat, a Chevrolet SUV and a Mazda SUV.
