HILLIARD, Norwich Township — A man critically injured in a single-vehicle crash that left a woman dead and her husband injured earlier this week near Hilliard was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide on Friday.
Hilliard Police issued a warrant for the arrest of Patrick Larosa, who is currently listed as being in critical condition at Riverside Methodist Hospital.
According to court records, 50-year-old Scott Marple and 45-year-old Jamie Marple were at a Plain City bar with Larosa on Monday.
All three are employees with the United States Postal Service, a spokesperson confirmed. Jamie Marple, who died in the crash, was a letter carrier at the Hillard Post Office.
Scott Marple told Hilliard police he was too intoxicated to drive home and Larosa offered to drive the couple home. He also told police he saw Larosa have several drinks at the bar, including a couple of shots of liquor.
Before leaving the bar, Scott Marple said he purchased beer so they could drink on the way home, adding that Larosa also drank in the vehicle.
On the drive home from the bar, shortly after midnight, police say Larosa lost control of the Toyota Tundra and drove off the side of Walker Road, crashing into an electrical pole.
When officers arrived at the scene, Jamie Marple was not breathing and was under cardiac arrest. She was taken to Doctors Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Scott Marple was taken to the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center with serious injuries.
According to court records, officers at the scene noticed Larosa's eyes were red and glassy. They said he had a smell of alcohol coming from his breath and his speech was slurred.
Larosa, who was driving with an OVI suspension, admitted to officers that he was driving at a high rate of speed and said that he drank four beers, court records state.
Inside of the truck, an investigator said he found multiple open and unopened beer cans and bottles. The investigator also found broken beer bottles in the driver's side door and beer cans were located in a field about 40-50 feet away, near where the vehicle's headlights also landed.
A search warrant was obtained for Larosa's blood-alcohol content at the hospital and those results are pending.
According to court records, Larosa has had four prior OVI convictions in the past 20 years in 2001, 2009, 2011 and 2020.