By Diane Smith
Record-Courier staff writer
A Kent man charged in the fatal collision that claimed the life of a Garrettsville police and Ohio Department of Natural Resources officer last year was in court Monday, charged with aggravated vehicular homicide.
Christopher R. Jones, 23, was the driver in a crash in August 2007. Donovan E. Svab, 37, of Mantua was killed in the crash.
Jones was served Monday with an indictment charging him with two felony counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, including a second degree felony charge with mandatory prison time if he is convicted and a third-degree felony. He also is facing two counts of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
Svab was on his way home from his ODNR job when the crash occurred. He left behind a wife and three children.
Porage County Common Pleas Court Judge John Enlow set a bond of 10 percent of $100,000 for Jones. Jones was still in the Portage County jail as of Monday afternoon.
Portage County Prosecutor Victor Vigluicci requested a bond of $200,000 for Jones, saying his driving record makes him "a menace to the roadways of Portage County."
He said Jones has been convicted of a dozen speeding violations since 2003 and three crashes, the third of which claimed the life of Svab, "a father of three." Before that crash, he said, Jones' car was traveling at speeds ranging from 60 miles per hour to 95 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone.
"For a 23-year-old, he has probably the worst driving record I've seen in my years," Vigluicci said.
Jones' attorney, William Lentz, said Jones has not been convicted of any serious crimes, and pointed out that his client has been recovering from injuries sustained in the crash for most of the time since the crash occurred.
"Without minimizing the impact this accident had on everyone, Chris did have serious injuries that required extensive treatment," he said. "This accident happened 11 months ago. If Chris wanted to run, he had ample opportunity to do so. Instead, he wanted to stay and answer these charges. He voluntarily turned himself in."
Trial is scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 16 with a pretrial conference on Sept. 8.