Moraine man gets decade in prison, license suspension, to pay $10K for fatal crash

James Josef Elliott. Photo courtesy of Montgomery County Jail.

James Josef Elliott. Photo courtesy of Montgomery County Jail.

A Moraine man who tested positive for drugs after a crash that killed a man was sentenced to prison, will have to pay restitution, and will have his driver’s license suspended for decades.

James Josef Elliott, 25, was sentenced by Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Wiseman to an aggregate term of 10 to 13 and a half years in prison, was ordered to pay $10,934.78 in restitution, and will have his license suspended for 25 years. After his release, he will spend one to three years on parole.

He received credit for 356 days already spent in confinement, court documents said.

Around 11:15 p.m. Aug. 25, 2023, Elliott was driving a 1999 Lexus LS southbound on Ohio 741 when he ran a red light at the intersection with Lyons Road, according to an Ohio State Highway Patrol crash report.

He crashed into a 2010 Nessan Versa that was turning from Ohio 741 onto Lyons Road, the report said.

The crash pushed the Nissan into a traffic pole before it came to rest in the southbound lanes of Ohio 741, while the Lexus continued south and crashed into a curb, an AT&T box and finally a ditch.

Danis Benajmin Jacob, 40, of Miami Twp., who was driving the Nissan, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Emergency crews took Elliott to Kettering Health Dayton for possible injuries, and his blood tested positive for cannabinoids and opioids, the crash report said.

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