COLUMBUS, Ohio — A trial is beginning for a former Gahanna football player charged in a crash that left three dead in 2019.
On Tuesday, both sides presented opening arguments in Kobie Stillwell’s trial in front of jurors and Judge Andria Noble. The deadly crash happened at the intersection of Sunbury and Morse roads on Oct. 12, 2019.
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The prosecutor’s office said Stillwell, who was 18 at the time, was driving an Audi A6 eastbound on Morse Road at an “extremely high rate of speed” when he crashed into a Toyota Camry that was headed westbound.
The Toyota had a mother and two daughters inside. Kumari Biswakarma, 40, and her daughter, 24-year-old Anju Biswakarma, were pronounced dead at the scene. Another daughter who was in the backseat of the Toyota was treated for serious injuries.
JaShawn Scott, a 17-year-old Gahanna Lincoln High School student who was a passenger in the Audi, died days after the crash. Stillwell and another passenger in the Audi were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Months after the crash, Stillwell was indicted on three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and one count of vehicular assault. According to the indictment, each charge carries a firearm specification after jurors found that Stillwell had a firearm on him or under his control during the crash.
The jury must decide whether or not a medical emergency constitutes a defense to the charges Stillwell is facing. The defense attorney told jurors that Stillwell had suffered from epilepsy since he was 3 years old and argued that the crash was an accident.
The state opened up their time on the floor by telling jurors that Stillwell was operating the Audi at speeds in excess of 119 mph at the time of the crash and was reckless.
Stilwell, now 23 years old, plans to testify in his trial.
