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Driver pleaded guilty to charges in 2022 crash that killed young Mason father-to-be

Jyan Waespe
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WEST CHESTER TWP., Ohio — A Sharonville man has pleaded guilty to charges from a West Chester Twp. crash last summer that killed an 18-year-old from Mason.

In June 2022, 18-year-old Jyan Waespe died after a crash at the intersection of Tylersville and Butler-Warren roads around 11:30 p.m. in West Chester.

Michael Ondreka, 25, was in Butler County Common Pleas Court on Monday morning, where he pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, a second-degree felony.

Ondreka was indicted in October 2022 by a grand jury. He was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, operating a vehicle under the influence and driving under OVI suspension.

In exchange for the plea to the felony charge, the remaining charges — both misdemeanors — were dismissed. Ondreka faces two to eight years in prison. The judge set sentencing for July 3.

In the months before the crash, Waespe had recently graduated from Mason High School. He and his girlfriend Kayla were expecting a baby boy in August 2022.

"He was looking forward to being a dad, and on this Father's Day, it kind of gives me chills that he will never see that and that his son will never know him," said Michelle Sloan, a friend of the family, in June 2022.

Over $42,166 was raised for Waespe's girlfriend and his then-unborn son to help pay for expenses for the two. The baby was born on schedule in August, according to an update to the GoFundMe page started by Sloan.

"Baby Toby was born in August and is healthy and in the loving arms of his mother, Kayla," says the donation page.

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