Dalton Roessler was escorted into Lima Municipal Court on Friday for a probable cause hearing in the state’s allegation that he was the driver of a vehicle involved in a fatal car carsh earlier this month and fled the scene following that mishap.
J Swygart | The Lima News
Dalton Roessler confers with his court-appointed attorney, Linda Gabriel, during a preliminary hearing Friday in Lima Municipal Court. Roessler is charged with a third-degree felony for allegedly leaving the scene of a fatal traffic crash earlier this month.
J Swygart | The Lima News
LIMA — Dalton Roessler sat emotionless in Lima Municipal Court on Friday and signed off on his constitutional right to a probable cause hearing in the state’s case that he allegedly fled the scene of a fatal traffic accident earlier this month.
His case was bound over to the Allen County Common Pleas Court for consideration by an upcoming session of the grand jury. Magistrate John Payne continued Roessler’s bond at $500,000.
Police and prosecutors say Roessler, 21, was the driver of a vehicle that crashed on the evening of Oct. 5 along Spencerville Road, killing one of its occupants. Roessler fled the scene and was taken into custody the following day after being found hiding in an attic on Nye Street in Lima.
Shawnee Township Police Chief Michael Keith said officers from his department and the Lima Police Department checked the area of Nye and Elm streets in Lima after receiving a tip Roessler was there.
Visiting a residence at 411 Nye St. which Roessler was known to frequent, officers were told he wasn’t there. A freshly lit cigar, however, was noticed in a bedroom, and inside that bedroom was an entrance to an attic. As officers started to access the attic, Roessler came down and surrendered, Keith said.
Roessler was taken into custody and transported to the Allen County jail on a charge of failure to stop after an accident on public roads or highways, a felony of the third degree.
Police say he was the driver of a 2004 Ford Mustang that was involved in a crash in the 35oo block of Spencerville Road at approximately 9:35 p.m. on Oct. 5. The vehicle left the roadway, flipped and came to rest on its roof.
A passenger, Sierra Stewart, 17, of Lima, was ejected and died at the scene. Two other passengers, Chloe Greer, 18, of Lima, and Aaron Caskey, 19, of Lima, were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Police believe alcohol was a factor in the accident.
