COLUMBUS, Ohio – The central Ohio man who confessed in an online video to causing a fatal wrong-way crash after a night of heavy drinking entered a guilty plea this morning.
Matthew Cordle, 22, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and OVI to make good on his pledge to accept responsibility for the crash. The crime, a second-degree felony, carries a maximum sentence of eight years in prison and a lifetime driver’s license suspension.
Cordle, of Powell, entered a preliminary plea of not guilty last week in a procedural move allowing a judge to be appointed to accept a guilty plea.
Common Pleas Court Judge David Fais pronounced a guilty verdict on the aggravated vehicular homicide charge and a misdemeanor count of OVI.
Fais ordered a pre-sentencing report, saying he wanted to know more about Cordle’s background and the events surrounding the fatal crash. He scheduled sentencing for Oct. 10 at 10:00 a.m.
In a video posted two weeks ago, Cordle admits he killed Vincent Canzani, 61, of Gahanna, in June and says he “made a mistake” when he decided to drive.