Middletown man pleads guilty in crash that kills Franklin woman, injures 8-year-old son

Montgomery County Common Pleas Courtroom. JIM NOELKER/STAFF FILE

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Montgomery County Common Pleas Courtroom. JIM NOELKER/STAFF FILE

A Middletown man pleaded guilty to causing a crash last summer that killed a Franklin woman and seriously injured her fiancée and 8-year-old son in German Twp.

Cristian Jesus Villajuarez-Castillo, 20, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide and two counts of aggravated vehicular assault. He faces up to 16½ years in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 23.

Cristian Villajuarez-Castillo

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

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Credit: Montgomery County Jail

The crash victim was identified as 24-year-old Kelsey Elizabeth Slivinski by Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Kent Harshbarger.

German Twp. police responded around 11:15 p.m. Aug. 5, 2023, to the crash that happened on state Route 4, between the Butler County line and Eby Road.

Villajuarez-Castillo was driving a 2007 Cadillac Escalade north on state Route 4 when it went left of center and struck a 2012 Ford Focus driven by Slivinski, according to a German Twp. Police Department crash report.

Slivinski was pronounced dead at the scene and her 8-year-old son was flown to Dayton Children’s Hospital. Slivinski’s fiancée, a 23-year-old Middletown woman, was taken to Atrium Medical Center with serious injuries.

Villajuarez-Castillo was taken to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, also suffering from serious injuries.

Witnesses said he was driving erratically. Also, the investigation revealed that Villajuarez-Castillo, who has no license, was driving in excess of 80 mph at the time of the crash, according to a statement from the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.

In addition to a prison term, Villajuarez-Castillo will have his license suspended or ability to obtain a driver’s license revoked for between three years and up to the remainder of his life, records show.

As part of his plea, one count of aggravated vehicular homicide, two counts of vehicular assault and one misdemeanor count of OVI were dismissed.

Villajuarez-Castillo remains in the Montgomery County Jail.

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