YOUNGSTOWN — Randy Daff of New Middletown said his son, Jason Daff, would have turned 16 on June 3, and that would have “been a big deal for him to get his license. He loved his mother. He never left her side. He was just a great, great kid. Angela was a great mom.”

On March 3, Angela M. Brown, 44, of New Middletown was driving Jason and his brother, Jayden, 12, to Randy’s house not far away when Walter Bolt, 65, of Struthers, crossed the centerline on state Route 170 north of New Middletown and struck Brown’s car head-on. Angela and Jason died, and Jayden continues to recover from numerous, serious injuries.

“They were only three-quarters of a mile (from home.) They weren’t in the car four minutes (before the crash happened), and if it wouldn’t have been them, it would have the car behind them,” Randy said.

“It’s just terrible to get in a car like that and drink. I’m all for having beer, but don’t get to the point where you can’t drive. Have a few beers and go home,” he said of Bolt, who was arraigned Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

Randy said Jason loved school, hated to be late for school and stayed late. “He should be on the football and baseball field right now. He was an assistant (football) coach, very talented actor and singer. He loved his drama club, was a lifelong Boy Scout.”

Jayden was not expected to survive initially, but he did. He has a tracheotomy and has broken bones in his legs and arms, lost his kidney and spleen, punctured his lung, had pneumonia, brain bleeding and concussions, Randy said.

“They wanted us to postpone the funerals. They thought there would be three,” Randy said of Angela, Jason and Jayden.

Randy and his daughter, Peyton Daff, attended Bolt’s arraignment, moving from the gallery in the back of the courtroom to the front when it was time for Bolt’s arraignment, which was done by video. The monitor showing Bolt was facing the judge in the front of the courtroom, so moving to the front allowed them to see what was happening on the video monitor.

A man and woman who were there in support of Bolt also moved to the front of the courtroom to see the monitor.

BOLT INDICTMENT

Bolt was indicted this month on two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, one count of aggravated vehicular assault and one count of drunken driving. Bolt was in a wheelchair when he was arraigned by video from the Mahoning County jail Tuesday.

His attorney entered a not guilty plea to the charges, and he remained in the county jail Tuesday afternoon in lieu of $250,000 bond. Judge Anthony D’Apolito accepted Bolt’s not guilty plea and agreed to allow the judge who will handle Bolt’s case, R. Scott Krichbaum, to decide on whether to modify Bolt’s bond.

Bolt’s attorney, Rhys Cartwright-Jones, filed a motion Tuesday asking that Bolt’s bond be reduced. The filing noted that Bolt “voluntarily surrendered himself to the Mahoning County jail, despite extensive medical hardship.” Bolt entered the jail Monday, according to jail records.

Bolt has only one misdemeanor offense in his record, is a lifelong Mahoning Valley resident and served honorably in the U.S. military, the filing states. Bolt worked for two paper companies a total of 42 years and has lived in the same home in Struthers for decades, the filing states.

Bolt also needs daily trips to St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital to receive intravenous antibiotics and also undergoes blood work two times per week, the filing states. His mobility is limited; he wears a brace and uses a wheelchair and “needs constant supervision for basic hygiene,” the filing states.

POSSIBLE PUNISHMENT

If Bolt were to be convicted of both aggravated vehicular homicide charges, he could get about 16 years in prison. The aggravated vehicular assault could result in several more years in prison if convicted.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol, which investigated the crash, stated in a news release that Bolt sustained serious injuries. Bolt’s Chevrolet Colorado was heading south on Route 170, and Brown’s Honda Accord was traveling north when Bolt struck Brown’s car and overturned it, causing her Honda to come to rest in the ditch on the east side of the road.

Angela Brown graduated from Struthers High School / Mahoning County Joint Vocational School in 1998, according to her obituary. Jason Daff was a freshman at Springfield Local High School.

A test indicated that Bolt had a blood-alcohol level of .215, according to a Highway Patrol crash report. That is more than twice the legal limit to drive in Ohio of 0.08.