LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The driver who fatally hit a 15-year-old walking between Lakota East's freshman campus and high school in May has been charged with vehicular homicide, according to Butler County court documents.
On May 15, Aspen Runnels was crossing the intersection of Bethany Road and Liberty Court outside Lakota East's freshman campus when he was struck by a driver. Runnels died about a week later when his family announced his brain injury was not survivable.
On Wednesday, a Butler County grand jury charged Kaitlyn Hyde with driving "negligently" and causing the death of Runnels via vehicular homicide, according to court documents. In Ohio, vehicular homicide is a first degree misdemeanor.
A crash report found that Hyde hit the 15-year-old when she looked away from the road "to adjust her baby's pacifier." The report says Hyde was driving her pickup truck around 30 miles per hour at the time of the crash.
Hyde stayed on scene and cooperated with the investigation, sheriff's office said.
After Runnels' death, the community called for Lakota Local School District and area governments to do more to keep kids safe in the area.
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Trisha Parnell started a Change.org petition calling for added infrastructure around the district's school, as well as additional funding from the state for busing so kids are less likely to need to walk home. The petition received more than 2,500 supporters.
Parnell said the district should encourage nearby police departments to place an officer at the intersection during start and release times, and they should add traffic-calming measures like temporary speed bumps, noise making grooves or much more attention grabbing signs to reduce distracted driving incidents.
In response to Parnell's petition, the school district issued a statement saying the safety of its students and staff is a top priority.
Read Lakota Local School District's full statement from May below:
The safety of our students and staff is always our top priority. We have already reached out to both West Chester and Liberty townships to discuss pedestrian safety measures around our schools. Both townships, as well as the Butler County Engineer’s office, have been agreeable to installing flashing lights at crosswalks near our high schools in the past. This ongoing discussion will take time and will continue this summer. As always, we implore drivers to use caution when driving in our school zones, especially during arrival and dismissal.
