Trial of former Gahanna student begins for fatal car crash

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The trial of a former Gahanna football player accused in a 2019 car crash that killed three people is beginning.

On Tuesday, both sides made their opening statements before the jury and Judge Andria Noble in the trial of Kobie Stillwell. The fatal accident occurred on October 12, 2019 at the intersection of Sunbury and Morse Road.

RELATED: 18-year-old charged with negligent homicide in crash that killed Gahanna student and two others

Prosecutors said Stillwell, then 18, was driving an Audi A6 eastbound on Morse Road at “extremely high speeds” when he collided with a Toyota Camry traveling westbound.

A mother and two daughters were in the Toyota. 40-year-old Kumari Biswakarma and her 24-year-old daughter Anju Biswakarma were pronounced dead at the scene. Another daughter, who was sitting in the back seat of the Toyota, was treated for serious injuries.

JaShawn Scott, a 17-year-old student at Gahanna Lincoln High School who was a passenger in the Audi, died several days after the crash. Stillwell and another passenger in the Audi were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Months after the accident, Stillwell was charged with three counts of aggravated murder and one count of negligent homicide. According to the indictment, each count includes a firearm designation after jurors found that Stillwell had a firearm on his person or under his control during the accident.

The jury must decide whether a medical emergency is a defense to the charges against Stillwell. Defense counsel told jurors that Stillwell has suffered from epilepsy since he was three years old and argued that the crash was an accident.

The state opened its trial by telling the jury that Stillwell was driving the Audi at a speed in excess of 120 mph (192 km/h) at the time of the accident and acted recklessly.

Stilwell, now 23, plans to testify at his trial.

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