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(2:25 PM) Ohio Man Pleads Guilty In Crash That Killed Falconer Native

An Ohio man has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a crash over the summer that killed a Falconer native.

Marc Terrell, 37, pleaded guilty this morning during a hearing in Clark County Common Pleas Court to aggravated vehicular homicide, aggravated vehicular assault and operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He was charged in a July 2 crash the killed 20-year-old Matthew Eskeli IV and injured two passengers.

An additional vehicular assault charge and a tampering with evidence count were dismissed as part of a plea deal, Clark County Prosecutor Dan Driscoll said.

Eskeli’s family was in court this morning for the hearing. Driscoll said he was glad his office was able to bring closure for the family.

“Obviously I’m very happy about it,” Driscoll told The Post-Journal. “Any time you take a trial off the board and get a plea like this is obviously good. The family doesn’t have to go through a trial.”

Terrell was indicted in August following a two-month-long investigation by Ohio authorities.

Eskeli was driving his Ford Focus on Interstate 70 in Clark County, Ohio, when he was struck at about 2:30 a.m. by a fast-moving BMW reportedly driven by Terrell. The Focus rolled onto its side after the collision.

Police say alcohol was a factor in the crash.

The Falconer native — who was a fourth-year mechanical engineering student at the Rochester Institute of Technology — was taken to an Ohio hospital where he later died.

A passenger in the Ford, 21-year-old Zach B. Cooper of Brockport, was transported to Springfield Regional Hospital before being airlifted to Miami Valley Hospital. Another passenger, 22-year-old Benjamin C. Cooper of Corning, was transported to the hospital for precautionary reasons.

The three were returning to New York after competing in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb motorcycle competition in Colorado.

Driscoll said Terrell will be sentenced on Oct. 28 at 8:30 a.m.

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