Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said Bell pleaded guilty to OVI, a first-degree misdemeanor, on the original indictment. She was sentenced to 180 days in jail to be served concurrently with the prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter. In addition, she will be subject to a mandatory period of post-release control with a maximum term of five years, according to court records.
Fornshell said there was some evidence that she was involved in an argument at the time with her passenger, who jerked the steering wheel while she was driving, which caused the vehicle to go into the path of the oncoming vehicle.
That crash resulted in the death of Betty Sandlin, 67, of Middletown, on Dixie Highway near the Stonyrill Lane intersection in Franklin Twp. Sandlin was pronounce dead at the scene.
Bell’s vehicle had one passenger, David Flinchum, 27, of Miamisburg. No charges were filed against Flinchum.
In a separate matter, Bell was sentenced to five years community control for an aggravated possession of drugs conviction on April 23, 2019 in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. On Feb. 19, 2019 she was granted intervention in lieu of conviction supervision on the fifth-degree felony charge.
However, that was revoked on April 23, 2019 after she violated the terms the agreement. She admitted to using or testing positive for illegal drugs three times, walking out of the residential treatment center where she was a patient and failing to report to the adult probation department as ordered.
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