XENIA — A motion to suppress hearing for a Xenia woman charged with aggravated vehicular homicide will continue, again, to another date.
Kathy Smith, 64, was indicted by a Greene County Grand Jury in March 2017 on four counts stemming from a fatal accident that happened on Hussey Road in August 2016.
Smith was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, a second-degree felony; aggravated vehicular assault, a third-degree felony, and two counts of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and or other drugs, first-degree misdemeanors. She was arrested and posted bond.
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Smith was driving a vehicle that allegedly hit a pickup truck driven by Raymond Deyo of Bowersville shortly after 3:30 p.m. Aug. 27, 2016. Deyo, 68, was pronounced dead at the scene. Smith and Linda Deyo, a passenger in the truck, suffered life-threatening injuries and were hospitalized, according to the report. Both have reportedly since recovered.
The OSHP accident report indicated that Smith’s blood alcohol level was .343, more than four times the legal limit of .08.
But a hearing was held Jan. 12, after a few continuations, to decide whether or not the blood test was taken in compliance with the administrative code.
“The testing was done at the hospital, not through normal police procedures … It was a medical protocol; we have no idea whether they complied with regulations … ” Defense Attorney Peter Certo said.
The state called one witness to the stand to testify to the general procedures used in processing medical tests at CompuNet Clinical Laboratories in Miami Valley Hospital, where Smith’s blood tests were done, according to records.
Dr. Daniel Hood, who works as medical director of the laboratory, detailed the processes used in testing but could not testify to what happened in this particular case.
Additional subpoenaed witnesses failed to show up for the hearing, resulting in another delay.
“This is a very serious case,” Judge Stephen Wolaver said to counsel. The judge said he will set a new date to complete the hearing.
Xenia Municipal Court records indicate that Smith was convicted of an OVI in 2013.
