Man pleads guilty in fatal West Chester motorcycle crash
A Cincinnati man charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and other felonies in a fatal West Chester Twp. motorcycle crash that killed a mother of three has pleaded guilty.
Samuel Ankrah, 38, was taken into custody after the crash that happened about 1:35 a.m. Sept. 10 on Ohio 747 near Duff Drive. He was scheduled for trial in Butler County Common Pleas Court next month.
On Sept. 15, Ankrah was indicted for aggravated vehic- ular homicide, alleging he did not have a valid driver’s license at the time of the incident, aggravated vehic- ular assault, failure to stop after an accident — all felonies — and operating a vehi- cle under the influence, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Ankrah pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, a second-degree felony, and aggravated vehicular assault, a third-degree felony. The remaining charges were dismissed. He faces a max- imum of 17 years in prison, according to court records.
Judge Dan Haughey set sentencing for April 23. He remains held in the But- ler County Jail in lieu of $750,000 bond.
According to West Ches- ter Police, Ankrah was driv- ing a Mazda southbound on Ohio 747 when he struck a Harley Davidson motorcycle in the rear-end collision.
West Chester Police said in court documents Ankrah “admitted to officers that he consumed alcoholic beverages” before the crash.
Jessica Taleff, 27, a pas- senger on the motorcycle, died at the scene. The Butler County Coroner’s Office said Taleff died of multiple traumatic injuries.
Taleff ’s husband, Galen, was driving the motorcycle and was injured in the crash. Jessica Taleff left behind three young children.