Man pleads guilty to crashing into Mentor home which seriously injured 3-year-old boy
Posted: 02/21/2013
MENTOR, Ohio - The man accused of crashing into the Mentor home of a family of five while drunk pleaded guilty on Thursday.
Mentor police said Daniel A. Vanderhoof Jr. of Willoughby was speeding when he went through a T-intersection and drove into a house on Comanche Trail. Christopher Lukasiewicz and his 3-year-old son were trapped up the car, while his 1-year-old daughter was also injured.
Vanderhoof was charged with four counts of aggravated vehicular assault, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, driving while under suspension, driving without a license, reckless operation and leaving the scene of an accident.
He pleaded not guilty in Lake County Common Pleas Court on Feb. 13 and his trial date was set for next week. But on Thursday, Vanderhoof changed his plea to guilty. He will be sentenced on April 11.
"I just hope they put this guy away for good so he doesn't destroy any other families like he's destroyed mine," Lukasiewicz said after the crash.
The family has been staying with a friend since the incident, but the Mentor community gathered money and clothes to help get them back on their feet.
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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