A second Hamilton boy, who was driving a stolen 2003 Mazda minivan in the drag race, was also sentenced today by Romans to 2 years to up to his 21st birthday at the Ohio Department of Youth Services. The boy, who was 15 years old at the time of the incident, pleaded true to vehicular homicide, leaving the scene, vehicular theft and hit-skip private property.
The boys will spend the minimum sentence behind bars, then be evaluated by DYS staff before being released. They were also ordered not to have any contact with each other, make restitution and undergo counseling and treatment programs while serving their sentences.
According to Hamilton police, the two vehicles were traveling about 50 miles per hour when the Mazda minivan clipped the back of the Toyota, in which Denney was a passenger.
The impact caused the driver of the Camry to swerve the vehicle off the road and into a picnic bench and then a tree, according to police. Denney was killed in the crash
Attorney Dawn Garrett, who represents the 16-year-old who was driving the Toyota, questioned her young client’s competency to stand trial. After two forensic evaluations — one that found him competent and one that did not — Romans made the final decision finding him capable of understanding the proceedings against him.
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