The criminal case stemming from the 2024 crash that killed Brittnie Whetsel concluded Friday, Feb. 27, with a prison sentence for the driver investigators determined was responsible.
Marcus A. Hagans, 39, who was living in Springfield at the time of the crash, was sentenced in Logan County Common Pleas Court after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide, a felony of the second degree.
As part of a plea agreement, a second count of aggravated vehicular homicide, a third-degree felony, was dismissed by the state.
Judge Kevin P. Braig imposed a mandatory indefinite prison term of six to nine years. Hagans also was ordered to serve a three-year Class Two driver’s license suspension to commence upon his release from prison, along with 18 months of post-release control. He received two days of jail-time credit and was ordered to pay court costs.
A Class Two suspension is a mandatory Ohio driver’s license suspension ranging from three years to life for serious felony traffic offenses.
The charges stemmed from a one-vehicle crash reported about 2:45 a.m. June 17, 2024, on County Road 29.
According to deputies of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office, Hagans was operating a 2022 Polaris Slingshot three-wheeled motorcycle southeast on County Road 29 when he failed to negotiate a curve, traveled off the right side of the roadway and struck brush and debris before the vehicle overturned and came to rest on its top.
Bellefontaine resident Whetsel, 32, was a passenger in the vehicle. Both she and Hagans were transported by Macochee EMS to Mary Rutan Hospital with suspected serious injuries. Whetsel died the following day.
Investigators reported that Hagans was possibly under the influence of medications, drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash. Authorities also stated that Hagans initially denied being the driver of the vehicle, but deputies later concluded through their investigation that he was operating the Slingshot when the crash occurred.
Hagans was indicted in August 2025 and initially entered a not guilty plea before later changing his plea ahead of a scheduled jury trial.
