He is accused of striking and killing Stacy Moermond, 23, of Hamilton on June 19 as Moermond was standing behind his broken down Jeep along Ohio 63 in Monroe. Moermond’s two young children were in the vehicle at the time of the crash.
Defense attorney Paris Ellis filed a motion in June to suppress urine and breath evidence, arguing it was obtained as the result of an improper investigation that was a result of an illegal stop and that there was no probable cause to arrest Ward without a warrant. Ward, who has two previous drunken driving convictions, is also charged with OVI.
During the two-hour hearing Monday, Monroe Officer Paul Corbeil detailed the tests he administered to Ward after arriving on the scene.
Corbeil said he found a Jeep Wrangler off to the right side of the road and Moermond in the roadway. About 100 feet away was Ward, who was standing beside the driver’s side of his purple Ford pickup truck, he said.
“He (Ward) lit a cigarette up really quickly as I approached,” Corbeil said, noting Ward admitted to being the driver of the truck.
As he continued to talk with Ward, the officer said he could smell a slight oder of alcohol and noted that Ward was slightly unsteady. Corbeil said Ward turned away from him while speaking and backed away as the officer moved forward.
These actions, he said, alerted the officer that Ward may have been consuming alcohol before the crash.Police reported Ward’s blood alcohol level at the time of the accident was 0.13, which is above the state’s 0.08 legal driving limit.
Ellis questioned whether Ward was properly informed of his rights before testing began and if the machine used to test’s his client’s blood-alcohol level had been properly certified.
Ward’s trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 25.
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