Driver in deadly ATV crash makes first court appearance
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (June 21, 2023) – A 21-year-old Port Washington man is now facing formal charges for a rollover ATV crash in Salem Township that killed his passenger.
Mitchell Smith Jr. stood next to his attorney during his arraignment before Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court Judge Elizabeth Thomakos for aggravated vehicular homicide and OVI and had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf.
The passenger was a 21-year-old Sherrodsville man, who died from injuries he sustained when the side-by-side utility vehicle Smith was operating overturned in a field on River Road Southwest just after midnight on December 11th.
Thomakos placed Smith on pre-trial supervision with an alcohol monitor and will schedule further proceedings in the case during a pre-trial conference on July 26th.