A Monroe man has been indicted after deputies say he sped away from a traffic stop, drove into oncoming traffic, and caused a head-on crash on State Route 63 that sent three people to local hospitals.
The collision happened on April 24 at SR 63 and Heritage Green in Monroe. Prosecutors allege that De'Erik Curtis was behind the wheel of a black Mazda that was heading the wrong way when it struck another vehicle head-on. The 80-year-old driver of the other car, along with Curtis and his passenger, were taken to area hospitals with what were described in the police report as minor injuries.
According to WKRC, a Butler County deputy initially tried to stop the Mazda on SR 63 near Todhunter Road on April 24. Investigators say the driver took off, and the deputy ended the pursuit when it became too dangerous. Authorities report that the vehicle then traveled east in the westbound lanes before slamming into another car at the Heritage Green intersection.
Deputies said they recovered marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms at the crash scene and later found a handgun in a ditch near Butler Tech's Monroe campus. Curtis has been in the Butler County Jail since his April arrest and now faces aggravated vehicular assault and related charges.
Charges And Potential Penalties
Aggravated vehicular assault is codified in the Ohio Revised Code at Section 2903.08. It can be charged as a felony, with penalties that depend on the level of harm and a defendant's prior record.
The offense of failing to comply with an officer's signal appears in Section 2921.331 of the Ohio Revised Code. That charge can be elevated from a misdemeanor to a felony if the fleeing creates a substantial risk of serious physical harm, and the statute allows for additional license suspension penalties.
Put together, those provisions mean that if Curtis is convicted on the charges he is facing, he could be looking at prison time and a long stretch off the road.
Investigative Status
The indictment, returned Monday, moves the case into Butler County's court system, where Curtis is expected to make his next court appearance after scheduling. He remains in custody on the April arrest. Investigators have not publicly released further information beyond what is contained in the police report, according to WKRC.
