Timothy Villano, 26, who Middletown police said was the at-fault driver, was charged with aggravated vehicular assault, OVI, fleeing the scene, reasonable control and display of license plate.
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Villano is scheduled to have his preliminary hearing at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in Middletown Municipal Court and charges may be upgraded to aggravated vehicular homicide since Stidham died from his injuries.
Villano’s bond was set at $30,000. He remains in the Middletown City Jail.
This was the second time tragedy has struck this local family.
In 1976, Stidham’s brother, Charles Watts, 19, was killed in an auto accident near Franklin Community Park, said Robin Gibson, one of his six sisters. She said Watts was racing when he crashed into a guardrail.
Then on May 18, Gibson learned her other brother was involved in a serious crash. Stidham, a 1985 Franklin High School graduate, was transported to Miami Valley where he never regained consciousness, she said.
“Just shocked” is how Gibson described her reaction to his death.
She and other family members are planning to attend Tuesday’s arraignment.
“He will pay for this,” Gibson said. “We will be at every court appearance he has. I will get justice for my brother.”
Stidham had six sisters: Robin, June, Brenda, Tina, Angie and Mary, according to his family.
“We spoiled him,” Gibson said. “He got whatever he wanted from us girls.”
Besides a brother, Stidham was preceded in death by his parents. He leaves behind a daughter, Jasmine, 11.
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