The New Paris man was charged in the July 6, 2021, death of Bryan K. Gibboney, 28, of Bradford, in a single-vehicle accident in the area of Ohio 48 and Covington-Bradford Road.
Sheriff’s investigators said the men were heading to work in the early morning hours when the vehicle went off the road and struck a wood line.
Kelch later pleaded no contest to aggravated vehicular homicide and OVI. He was found guilty.
Wall said the car ran a stop sign, went airborne and cut two trees in half. Neither man was wearing a seat belt.
Wall said she didn’t think Kelch had any intention of harming Gibboney, but he was driving under a license suspension and tested positive for drugs including marijuana.
Gibboney’s fiancé told the judge, “I just don’t understand what happened. That is what I want to know.”
Kelch was sentenced to the prison time, a mandatory lifetime driver’s license suspension and a mandatory fine of $1,075 and court costs.
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