Man charged for crash that killed wife pleads not guilty
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (Nov. 15, 2024) – A Sherrodsville man is facing formal charges for the St. Patrick’s Day crash on State Route 39 that killed his wife and injured two others.
48-year-old Richard Sickels appeared in Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court to be arraigned on eight counts including aggravated vehicular homicide and OVI. Judge Michael Ernest read from the indictment, which claims that Sickels’ blood alcohol concentration at the time of the alleged crimes was more than twice the legal limit.
“Count Three alleges that you had a prohibited concentration of 17-hundreds of one-percent or more by weight per unit volume of alcohol in your whole blood. Count Four provides at the time at which you were operating the vehicle that you were under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them.”
Sickels pleaded not guilty to the charges. Ernest allowed him to remain free on his own recognizance ahead of his trial but placed him on pretrial supervision with a continuous alcohol monitor.
“They’re very serious allegations that involve alcohol and driving. I believe it is appropriate in these situations to use a CAM monitor, and I am going to order that.”
Assistant County Prosecutor Scott Deedrick requested the device.
“We have become aware that there is not an ALS or any other kind of suspension of his license at this point that I’m aware of but we do have grave concerns about him driving under the influence.”
The highway patrol says Sickels’ blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit when the Dodge Challenger he was driving went off one side of the road and then the other, striking a guardrail and ditch before overturning. 46-year-old Jennifer Sickels was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Both rear-seat passengers were taken to hospitals by ambulance with suspected minor injuries.