Suspect in fatal West Chester crash appears in court

BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio (WXIX) - The suspect accused of causing a crash that took the life of one person and hospitalized another was in court for the first time Tuesday afternoon.

Samuel Ankrah is the only Butler County inmate in an orange jumpsuit and he is the only inmate walking into the room who is accused of taking the life of another person. The vehicular homicide case is currently in the Area Court and there is a good chance it will be bound over to Butler County.

According to the West Chester Police Department, Ankrah is accused of driving under the influence Sunday morning when he hit the back end of a motorcycle, killing the passenger on the bike and hospitalizing the driver.

Ankrah was arrested and is currently behind bars in the Butler County Jail.

During his court appearance Tuesday, FOX19 NOW’s Ken Brown learned Ankrah is in the U.S. on a Visa and because of that, the prosecution on the case requested a higher bond be set by the judge.

Ankrah’s attorney said he has been living in the area for the last year. The judge ended up raising the 38-year-old’s bond to $100,000 for each charge he is facing.

While another court date was set for next week, this case is expected to be bound over to the county and be presented to a grand jury.

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