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A GUILTY PLEA FOR DEADLY ACCIDENT
Canton Repository
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Part 2 of 2 articles concerning this caseCANTON ... A Nimishillen Township man took responsibility Wednesday for a traffic accident that killed a city worker in May.
Robert D. Martz, 65, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and misdemeanor charges of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, alcohol prohibitions and operating an oversize or overweight vehicle on state routes.
Stark County Common Pleas Judge John G. Haas said he wanted more information about the case before imposing a sentence.
Martz, of 6567 Easton St. NE, faces a mandatory prison term of up to 8 years. He remained free pending the pre-sentence investigation.
Martz declined to comment about the case as he left the courthouse.
Defense attorney Jeffrey Jakmides said his client was "very sorry for what occurred."
Martz was driving an Eslich Wrecking Co. dump truck May 24 when he ran into the elevated bucket of the city truck.
Peter J. Milbrodt was in the bucket, attempting to fix a traffic signal. The collision threw Milbrodt, who was not wearing a safety harness, to the ground.
The 32-year-old father of three died a short time later from injuries to his chest and abdomen.
Police said Martz was legally drunk at the time of the accident, with a blood-alcohol content of 0.10. The state limit is 0.08.
Martz's driver's license had been reinstated after he completed a sentence for a December conviction for driving while intoxicated in October.
A state investigation determined that Milbrodt should have been wearing a safety harness and that the street was not properly blocked off at the time of the accident.
Milbrodt's family has sued Martz and Eslich Wrecking Co.
Attorney Allen Schulman Jr. said the guilty plea was good news for their case.
"I know the family is very grateful that Martz took responsibility for this horrible tragedy and that the family insisted Martz plead guilty to the charges," Schulman said.
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