Charges dropped in Granville pedestrian death

NEWARK - Charges have been dismissed against a Plain City woman who reportedly struck and killed a woman in Granville last year.

Sarah Kieffer, 29, was scheduled to go to trial next week in Licking County Municipal Court on a charge of vehicular manslaughter.

Kieffer was suspected of striking 60-year-old Cheri Mitchell, of Granville, while Mitchell was jogging on North Pearl Street near its intersection with Washington Drive, which leads onto Denison University's campus.

The crash occurred around 7 a.m. Sept. 22 while it still was dark outside. Mitchell was inside a crosswalk at the time of the crash.

Rob Calesaric, Kieffer's attorney, said interviews with a witness who was on the road going the opposite direction of Kieffer showed Mitchell had jogged into the crosswalk without stopping.

"What we were able to show is that even if Mrs. Mitchell was not jogging when she entered the intersection, it was too late for Sarah to stop already," Calesaric said. "As a result, Mrs. Mitchell was the one who committed the violation because she didn't yield to an immediate hazard."

Under Ohio law, pedestrians only have the right of way in a crosswalk if they enter the crosswalk with no immediate hazard, such as an oncoming vehicle at a close distance.

Calesaric said there were other issues with the crash investigation as well, including a slight miscalculation in Kieffer's speed. While it might not have been enough to warrant a dismissal by itself, in conjunction with other factors, it likely played a role, he said.

An email from Assistant Newark Law Director J. Michael King to Calesaric, provided to The Advocate by Calesaric, said King would be filing a dismissal in the case. The email was sent at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

As of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, no official dismissal had been filed in Licking County Municipal Court. King was in court this morning and not immediately available to comment.

Accident victim was retired BalletMet director

Calesaric said his client "cried happily" upon hearing the news of the dismissal and said he hopes closure of the case will allow her a chance to heal as well.

"She's been distraught over the criminal charges and the incident itself has changed her life forever, just like the Mitchell family's life has changed forever," he said.

Calesaric called Mitchell's loss a sad one for the community and said he hopes her death will lead to discussion about crosswalk safety, especially in Granville.

"There's a lot of (crosswalks) and they're not really in appropriate places where vehicles have a chance to adjust to pedestrians," he said.

The flashing light near the intersection where Mitchell was struck is near another crosswalk and signage does not make it clear there is a second crosswalk a short distance up the road, Calesaric said.

"You can't see it until you come right up on it," he said. "By then it can be too late. It was too late for everybody in this case."

Days after the crash, Granville village officials said they were looking into proposals to do a traffic study of the crosswalk.

Fatality might spark crosswalk study

Mitchell recently had retired as the director of BalletMet in Columbus.