DAYTON — A man will spend the next 32 years in prison for driving drunk and causing a crash that killed four men and seriously hurt a fifth.
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Clayton Daniel Hughes, 29, was sentenced to 32 to 36 years in prison.
“I’m sorry to everyone in this room, everyone,” Hughes said in court on Thursday. “I’m also sorry to God, but I think about your families every day, and I know that doesn’t change anything.”
The deadly crash occurred on April 1, 2024, along the Dayton International Airport access road following an earlier hit-and-run crash on the highway.
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An investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol determined that Hughes was driving under the influence of alcohol and traveling at speeds near 90 mph in a 40 mph zone before the crash.
The collision followed a sequence of events that began on I-70 near the Dayton International Airport exit.
Multiple police departments received calls regarding a reckless driver who rear-ended a pickup truck and failed to stop.
The driver of the pickup truck followed Hughes as he exited the highway onto the airport access road.
Hughes continued at speeds exceeding 70 mph and reaching near 90 mph along the road, where the posted speed limit was 40 mph.
Hughes then T-boned the victims’ vehicle at the intersection of Terminal Drive and Boeing Drive.
Four of the five occupants in the vehicle died upon impact: Larry Edwards, 77, of Tipp City; Richard Coatney, 77, of Piqua; Richard Tumbell, 67, of Lewisburg; and Stephen Cassel, 72, of Clayton.
Emergency responders transported the fifth occupant to a hospital with severe injuries.
On July 24, 2024, a grand jury indicted Hughes on 12 counts.
The charges included eight counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, one count of aggravated vehicular assault, one count of vehicular assault, one count of failure to stop after an accident, and one count of operating a vehicle under the influence.
Prosecuting Attorney Mat Heck Jr. commented on the resolution of the case following the sentencing.
“This defendant recklessly took the lives of four innocent people and seriously injured a fifth,” Heck said. “He deserves this lengthy prison sentence for such a senseless and avoidable tragedy that has forever impacted five innocent families.”