An illegal immigrant truck driver from Florida is reportedly facing only 20 days in jail after causing a devastating highway crash that killed an Ohio father and his 11-year-old son, sparking outrage over what critics are calling an outrageously light sentence.
Lima Municipal Court Judge Tammie K. Hursh sentenced 53-year-old Yvio Michel, of Boynton Beach, Florida, to two consecutive 10-day jail terms — a total of just 20 days behind bars — despite the trucker pleading no contest to charges tied to the deadly February 28 wreck on Interstate 75.
Michel, a Haitian national living in the United States illegally while seeking asylum, was driving his big rig northbound near Cridersville around 8:30 p.m. that night when traffic came to a stop because of a vehicle fire ahead. Rather than slowing down, Michel failed to yield and slammed his massive tractor-trailer into the line of halted vehicles, triggering a horrific chain-reaction crash. The collision tore through four passenger cars and another semi-truck, crushing the Gipson family’s Buick SUV between two heavy rigs.
The crash killed 52-year-old Hurshel Gipson and his son, 11-year-old Michael, instantly. Hurshel’s wife, 45-year-old Amanda Gipson, who was driving the SUV, survived but suffered serious injuries and was rushed to the hospital. Several other motorists were also hurt in the destruction.
Despite the severity of the crash, prosecutors struck a plea deal with Michel. He pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor counts — negligent homicide and vehicular manslaughter — while three additional charges, including a second homicide count and failure to maintain distance, were dropped.
Judge Hursh then suspended the overwhelming majority of Michel’s potential jail time. He received a 90-day sentence on the homicide charge, with 80 days suspended, and a 180-day sentence for manslaughter, with 170 days suspended. On top of his 20 days in custody, Michel was slapped with a two-year driver’s license suspension, six points on his record, and $1,000 in fines plus court costs.
The lenient outcome drew swift backlash online, with the group Blue Lives Matter blasting the sentence as unacceptable given that a father and his young son lost their lives.
Michel’s time in the Allen County jail is set to end on September 21. But his troubles won’t end there — Immigration and Customs Enforcement has already placed a detainer on him, and federal agents are prepared to take him into custody the moment he’s released from local jail.
The case is the latest to fuel national debate over how illegal immigrants accused of causing fatal crashes are being handled in the courts, with critics arguing that sentences like Michel’s fail to reflect the gravity of the lives lost.
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