COLUMBUS, Ohio – A driver accused of causing a crash that killed two pedestrians Downtown is incompetent to stand trial, according to a psychiatric evaluation by Netcare.
READ MORE: In the Columbus Dispatch
Franklin County prosecutors asked for permission yesterday to seek a second opinion, which Common Pleas Judge Richard S. Sheward agreed to allow, according to a report in the Columbus Dispatch.
Terrance Trent, 62, is charged with two counts each of aggravated vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. Columbus police said he was driving a pickup truck west on E. Broad Street when the truck struck a school bus that then ran over the two pedestrians at Broad and High streets on the morning of Dec. 12.
Stephanie Fibelkorn, 21, died at the scene. City engineer William Lewis, 58, died on Dec. 29. Lewis had been walking to a meeting with Fibelkorn, who was interning with the city.
The bus driver and a passenger in Trent’s pickup were injured.
Trent was examined by Brian O’Reilly, a Netcare psychologist, at the request of his defense attorney, Philip Churchill.
O’Reilly determined that Trent is unable to understand the case against him or assist with his defense because he suffers from “disorganized and delusional thinking” and might have dementia, Sheward said during the hearing.
O’Reilly also concluded that Trent can be restored to competency within the one-year period allowed by state law.
The judge scheduled a competency hearing for June 18, which will allow time for an expert hired by the prosecution to evaluate Trent. He remains in the Franklin County jail, with bail set at $200,000.