Hill-hopping Warren County crash: 90 days in detention for teen driver

A 17-year-old South Lebanon boy was sentenced today to 90 days in the Warren County juvenile detention center for causing the crash that sent four passengers to the hospital and triggered the extended closure of a section of a road and bridge.

RELATED: Injury hill-hopping crash blamed extended bridge closure

Judge Joe Kirby also ordered the boy to attend the Drive ALIVE program offered through Miami Valley Hospital, complete 100 hours of community service and pay a $200 fine. The decision came during a hearing in Warren County Juvenile Court.

In addition, the boy’s driver’s license was suspended for two years, and he was ordered to submit a DNA specimen.

Noting the crash occurred on a section of Shawhan Road known for hill-hopping, Kirby said, “I have to send a message” to prevent other drivers from making the same “severe lapse of judgment” that prompted the boy to take this route on Jan. 5.

“Your time in the detention center starts now,” Kirby said as they boy’s mother cried out.

RELATED: Driver admits to vehicular assault in hill-hopping crash 

Both parents and Kirby noted the severity of the injuries, including one boy who aspired to join the U.S. Marines but is still in a hospital bed using a bed pan.

“With these injuries, he can forget about that,” Kirby said.

The driver’s parents said he continued to suffer from the crash, but acknowledged the serious consequences for the passengers.

“We feel awful about it,” the father said, adding they had tried to do everything in their power to help the victims.

His mother said she told him to drive - with no more than two passengers- rather than riding with another boy she didn’t know.

The bridge and road opened earlier this month, more than two months after the latest crash involving hill-hopping.

RELATED: Shawhan Road bridge reopens

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