JACKSON, Ohio — An 18-year-old pleaded guilty Monday in juvenile court to charges from a 2025 drunk-driving crash that killed an off-duty Wellston police officer and seriously injured another.
The defendant, who now lives in Athens County, admitted to second-degree felony aggravated vehicular homicide and third-degree felony aggravated vehicular assault during an appearance in Jackson County Juvenile Court.
The crash happened around 2 a.m. on Aug. 30, 2025, near the intersection of South Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street in Wellston, according to an Ohio State Highway Patrol investigation. The defendant — 17 and intoxicated at the time — was driving a 2014 Hyundai Accent southbound when the car rear-ended a golf cart traveling in the same direction, troopers said.
The golf cart ran off the left side of the road and struck a tree. Matthew Juniper, 25, a passenger in the cart, was fatally injured. Juniper was a four-year veteran of the Wellston Police Department and previously served as a deputy with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. The cart’s driver, 40-year-old Brant Derrow, who is also a Wellston police officer, suffered serious injuries.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson announced the plea. “A teenager’s reckless decision to drive drunk cost a police officer his life and left another officer injured,” Wilson said in a statement. “This tragedy is a reminder of the devastating consequences that can result from drunken driving.”
The case is being handled by the Special Prosecutions Section of the attorney general’s office. A disposition hearing in Jackson County Juvenile Court is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Nov. 5.
