YOUNGSTOWN Driver in crash faces multiple charges

The defendant spent a month in the hospital after the crash.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 19-year-old Salem woman, still recovering from injuries she suffered in a car crash in early January, is accused of causing the deaths of two female friends who died in the car she drove.
Megan Buchanan, of Euclid Street, wore a fabric arm cast and bent over a metal walker during her arraignment Thursday on two felony charges of aggravated vehicular homicide and two misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Nicole Barlow, 23, and Donel Morlan, 20, both of Salem, died Jan. 3 in the early morning crash on Market Street near Wayne Street.
Buchanan had turned herself in to face the charges. She pleaded innocent to the misdemeanors and entered no pleas to the felonies. Municipal Judge Robert A. Douglas released her on her own recognizance and appointed a defense attorney.
What happened: Buchanan was driving a Chevrolet Corsica at about 2:30 a.m. when she tried to change lanes and crashed into a light pole, police reports show. The car spun around and was hit head-on by another car.
Glenda Sprouse, Buchanan's mother, said her daughter spent a month in the hospital and, until recently, had to use a wheelchair. Sprouse said the accident has derailed her daughter's plans to attend college and study youth pastoral care.
Other car: The driver of the other car was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. Scott Ensign, 23, of Boardman, has pleaded innocent to the charge in municipal court and faces a pretrial March 19.
Police said they found Ensign leaning against a fence crying at the crash site. He told police that the Corsica had been racing alongside his car, with the women inside making face gestures. He said the driver of the Corsica had cut in front of him before losing control.