Drunken driver gets 7 years for killing passenger

YOUNGSTOWN

An Alliance man who pleaded guilty in July to a crash where a passenger in his car was killed while he was fleeing police was sentenced today to seven years in prison.

Brian Whitehurst, 41, was sentenced by Judge Lou D'Apolito on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and two counts of OVI.

Reports said a Sebring police officer early Jan. 16 tried to pull over a car Whitehurst was driving. Instead, Whitehurst drove away at speeds over 110 miles per hour and crashed, killing his passenger, Curtis Bauer, 43, of Alliance.

Whitehurst also had his driver's license suspended for life.