Nearly two years after a serious rear-end crash in Pendleton, a man was sentenced to three years in prison.
Elliot Koop, 35, pleaded guilty in a rear-ending crash that severely injured a woman, Amy Bakst, on Oct. 13, 2015 on the Gilbert Avenue exit ramp from Interstate 71. After the crash, Koop fled the scene and tried to hide beer bottles that were in his car, investigators said in court documents.
When Koop struck Bakst, he was traveling about 90 miles per hour, prosecutors said.
Bakst went through 17 MRIs and several surgeries after the crash.
"My orthopedic doctor literally pulled up a chair next to me, took my hands and told me 'You're blessed. You should be a quadriplegic or dead,'" Bakst said in court.
Koop pleaded guilty to two counts in July: aggravated vehicular assault and tampering with evidence. Four other counts were dismissed: vehicular assault, two counts of failure to stop after an accident, operating a motor vehicle while impaired.
Koop agreed to a plea deal for 36 months in prison, according to court documents filed July 18. HIs license was also suspended for life.
Bakst is the wife of attorney Jeff Bakst, a personal injury attorney in Cincinnati.
