Ohio man gets 35 1/2 years for crashing into bar during chase

WESTLAKE, Ohio (AP) — A judge has sentenced a man to 35 1/2 years in prison for injuring at least a dozen people when he crashed a stolen truck into a crowded northeast Ohio tavern in October.

Twenty-seven-year-old Brandon Pawlak of Cleveland was sentenced Monday after a jury found him guilty last week of 30 counts, including 13 each of aggravated robbery and aggravated vehicular assault.

Authorities say Pawlak stole a pickup truck from a golf course in Avon Lake and, after a police chase, lost control and crashed into a bar in Westlake. Stop sticks on the road near the bar failed to puncture the truck’s tires.

Pawlak apologized Monday to those who were hurt, but insisted he wasn’t driving the pickup. A dash-cam video shows Pawlak getting out of the truck afterward.