COLUMBUS, Ohio - A Columbus woman who fought cancer may not survive the night. Police say it's not her illness that will claim her life, but a drunk driver.
Timothy Castle, 33, said nothing during his initial appearance in a Franklin County court Wednesday.
It was two nights earlier that Columbus Police say he got behind the wheel after drinking. "Mr. Castle stated he had been drinking at Fairweather's bar, which is just down the street from the accident," said Columbus Police Sergeant Nick Konves. A police report says Castle was heading westbound as he approached the intersection of Wilson and Trabue. A witness told police Castle was trying to beat the red light, and struck the victim’s car nearly head-on." Officers arriving on the scene say Castle smelled of alcohol.
"Ran him through a series of field sobriety testing,” said Konves. “He performed very poorly on those tests. By his own admission he rated his impairment at a 4 on a scale from 1 to 10."
Investigators say Castle refused a breath test, but was given a court-ordered blood test, the results of which are pending. They say he is an Army recruiter who is from Central Ohio, but had recently been stationed in Maryland. The other driver, 58 year old Debra Meadows, was trapped in her car, with life-threatening injuries.
Wednesday the prosecutor said Meadows is not expected to recover. "It's the state's understanding that the victim in this case will be taken off of life support today and this will be enhanced to a felony of aggravated vehicular homicide."
Castle pleaded guilty to OVI in 2011. Wednesday a judge ordered him held on a million dollars bond. His family told 10tv they feel terrible about what's happened, but said they were not able to say anything more.
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