Driver in fatal OVI crash pleads guilty
NEW PHILADELPHIA – A New Philadelphia man has pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and other charges stemming from an August crash that killed a passenger in the car he was driving while intoxicated.
Janesh Cabrera-Vargas, 37, agreed to the plea deal on Monday, the day before a scheduled jury trial. Prosecutor Scott Deedrick says he will be sentenced on May 15 on the five counts from the October grand jury indictment: two felony counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, two counts of OVI and one count of failure to stop after an accident.
New Philadelphia Police said Cabrera-Vargas was racing in a Dodge Charger on South Broadway Street around 2 a.m. on Aug. 23 when he crashed into a utility pole.
Witnesses say the 21-year-old New Philadelphia man who was killed in the crash was hanging out of the passenger window.
Cabera-Vargas has been out of jail since posting a $10,000 bond in October.