A Rittman man pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated vehicular assault after a February car crash left a 5-year-old boy with a fractured skull.
Keir McQuistan, 48, of the 100 block of Joshua Drive, Rittman, faces two counts of vehicular assault — one a third-degree felony and the other a fourth-degree felony.
ELIZABETH DOBBINS / GAZETTE
Defense attorney V. Lee Winchell stands with his client Keir McQuistan who is accused of aggravated vehicular assault.
According to a report from the Ohio Highway Patrol, McQuistan’s truck rear-ended a Ford Fusion stopped at the intersection of Greenwich and Hubbard Valley roads in Guilford Township the early evening of Feb. 13.
Ashley Lamphear and John Robinson of Seville said they were riding in the front seat of the Fusion with their 5-year-old son, Bradyn Robinson, in the back.
Lamphear and Robinson were treated the same night at Medina Hospital, but Bradyn was transported from Medina Hospital to Akron Children’s Hospital where he underwent a 6 ½-hour surgery for a multiple skull fractures the next day.
McQuistan was also taken to Medina Hospital.
At the time of the crash, state troopers reported that McQuistan appeared to be drunk, but he refused a breath test, saying he did not trust it, the report said. Robinson told troopers McQuistan exited his car after the crash, asked Robinson why he was stopped in the middle of the road. McQuistan then urinated on his own vehicle, Robinson said.
Robinson is suing McQuistan and requesting $25,000 in damages for failing “to use ordinary care” while driving, according to court documents.
McQuistan is free on a $25,000 bond. During his appearance Thursday in Medina County Common Pleas Court, assistant prosecuting attorney Michael McNamara asked Judge Joyce V. Kimbler to require that McQuistan wear an alcohol monitor.
McQuistan’s defense attorney, V. Lee Winchell, argued McQuistan should not be required to wear the device since he has no prior alcohol-related convictions. He also has no other convictions in Medina Common Pleas or Municipal Court, according to court records.
Kimbler ordered McQuistan to wear the monitor and set his trial for 9 a.m. May 23. His pretrial is set for 8:30 a.m. May 16.