A man pleads not guilty to charges connected to a crash that left a utility worker dead. The crash happened in Greene County last May.
News Center 7’s Taylor Robertson was in the courtroom on Wednesday morning for Josh Griggs’ hearing.
His attorney, Adam Arnold, entered a not guilty plea on his client’s behalf and asked to be heard on bond when appropriate.
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Griggs is facing charges of failure to control, vehicular homicide, and vehicle manslaughter. In May, police and medics were called to Upper Bellbrook Road near Willwood Lane in Sugarcreek Township after the crash.
The initial investigation showed that Griggs crashed into a Spectrum truck that was stopped in the road for utility maintenance. Timothy Knepple, 25, was thrown from the bucket of that truck and later died at the hospital.
Knepple was working as a contractor for Spectrum at the time of the crash.
A Spectrum spokesperson told News Center 7 that “This was a tragic situation, and their thoughts are with their colleague’s family, friends and co-workers.”
In court, a victim advocate for the family was there and said, “Thank you, judge. We have opened this and reached out to the surviving family and no input for this hearing, okay, thank you.”
Grigg’s attorney requested that his client be released on his own recognizance, meaning the court would not deem him a flight risk and would not require him to pay money to get out of jail.
“He’s been compliant; he’s been talking with law enforcement throughout the investigation in this case. He’s a lifelong resident of Bellbrook. He does not have any criminal history and shows up when he needs to be. He has counsel,” Arnold said.
The judge went on to say, “The court will enter a not guilty plea on all charges, and an OR bond.”
News Center 7 reached out to Griggs’ attorney, who has the following statement:
“This was a tragic accident, and our thoughts remain with everyone affected. Because this matter is currently pending before the court, we will not be making any further comment at this time,” Arnold said.
Grigg’s appearance lasted less than 10 minutes and ended up with the judge saying they would set a date for the pretrial hearing.
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