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Ryan Billenstein reacts in 2013 when he was sentenced to prison for an accident that claimed the lives of two men.
CELINA - A 38-year-old Coldwater man involved in a car crash near St. Henry in July 2012 that claimed the lives of two men was released from prison after serving about 11 years of a 13-year sentence.
Mercer County Common Pleas Court Visiting Judge Jeffery Ingraham on Jan. 23 granted Ryan Billenstein's request for judicial release. It was filed on Nov. 28 by attorney Randy Lamarr, who asserted Billenstein was eligible for judicial release under Ohio Revised Code.
Multiple statements were made on behalf of Billenstein and the victims at the Jan. 23 hearing, court documents show.
Under the terms of the release, Billenstein must follow community control sanctions for up to five years. He is required to undergo drug and alcohol monitoring, maintain employment and complete a substance abuse treatment program.
Billenstein in May 2013 was sentenced by Ingraham to 13 years in prison - 10 years for two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and three years for aggravated vehicular assault. He also was ordered to serve six months in jail - concurrent to his prison time - for OVI and his driver's license was suspended for life.
The Third District Court of Appeals in Lima later asked Ingraham to explain the necessity of the consecutive prison terms and issue a new sentence.
In July 2014, Ingraham resentenced BIllenstein to the same prison term, stating consecutive sentencing was appropriate because Billenstein had more than 10 speeding offenses prior to the crash and had been arrested at least once for operating a vehicle under the influence.
The sentences were necessary to protect the public and punish Billenstein for his acts and disregard of public safety, Ingraham said, calling him "a threat to the public."
Billenstein was the driver in a fiery crash in July 2012 that killed Craig A. Gengler, 22, of Celina, and Vincent Anthony Gragorace, 21, of Greenville, and seriously injured Bethany Marie Wentworth, then 21, also of Greenville.
Billenstein was driving a 2006 Pontiac GTO on State Route 119 when it traveled off the south side of the roadway near the Lange/Fleetfoot roads intersection, spun out of control and struck two trees. Wentworth escaped the car before it burst into flames; Gragorace and Gengler both died of their injuries.
Toxicology tests administered after the 2:58 a.m. accident detected the presence of alcohol and marijuana in Billenstein's system. His blood-alcohol content was 0.11; a driver is considered legally impaired at a level of 0.08 and over.
Billenstein had been stopped approximately 30 minutes before the crash in Coldwater after a police officer witnessed a lane violation. The officer gave him a warning.
Following the stop, the Mercer County Sheriff's Office received multiple reports of a car similar to his 2006 GTO traveling at a high rate of speed. Billenstein then crashed his car minutes later near the Lange/Fleetfoot roads intersection.
