WARREN Appeals court upholds conviction of Bazetta man

The driver was cited because he didn't agree with police, who had stopped traffic.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A Bazetta Township man has been handed an expensive lesson for not obeying a police order at a traffic accident.
The 11th District Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of John S. Millik, of Howland-Wilson Road, who didn't stop as ordered during a 2004 vehicle accident. People were injured in the accident, which Millik did not cause.
"There is a lot of driver inattention out there," Howland Police Chief Paul Monroe said Wednesday.
Many drivers don't stop for emergency vehicles when the lights and sirens are activated, Monroe said, adding that this slows response time.
The cause, he explained, can be too many distractions such as cell phones, car stereo and changing CDs.
Failing to stop at an accident scene happens -- but it isn't frequent, the chief added.
What happened
A failure to stop did occur, the appellate court ruled, when police were called July 16, 2004, to the accident at Howland-Wilson Road and King Graves Road in Howland. Several emergency vehicles responded, including a cruiser driven by Howland Patrol Officer Eric Hoso.
There were three cars stopped in front of Hoso in the eastbound lane of King Graves. Millik, also traveling eastbound, pulled out into the westbound lane and passed the stopped cars in front of him.
When Hoso halted Millik and asked him if saw the stopped traffic, Millik responded that it was his opinion that traffic didn't need stopped in all directions, according to the ruling.
He drove off and Hoso got the license plate of his vehicle.
Later when questioned by Howland police Sgt. John Rumancik, Millik admitted he drove around the stopped traffic. He was cited for failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer.
Found guilty
He was eventually fined $750 and costs after being found guilty in Warren Municipal Court.
Millik appealed his conviction. Appellate court Judge William M. O'Neill wrote and Judges Diane V. Grendell and Cynthia Westcott Rice concurred to uphold the lower court ruling.
Millik asserted there was insufficient evidence to convict him in the first place.
In making its ruling, the appellate court pointed out that Hoso was in uniform and his cruiser lights were flashing. This was an indication that Hoso had ordered the drivers to stop.
Millik also admitted his actions to Rumancik.
The appellate judges noted in the opinion that Millik saw two township cruisers and two Ohio State Highway Patrol cars at the scene, but didn't see an officer order him to stop -- and left to get out of their way.
What's more, the appellate court ruled that because Millik knew from his wife that the accident had occurred before he arrived at the scene, and didn't take an alternate route, he knowingly violated Hoso's order.
yovich@vindy.com