CELINA, Ohio (WLIO) — A New Paris man has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a 2023 buggy crash that claimed the life of a 1-year-old girl.
Trey Frech, 25, entered a guilty plea in Mercer County Common Pleas Court to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide and three counts of vehicular assault. As part of a plea agreement, six additional charges were dropped.
The crash occurred in December 2023. According to the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, Frech was driving north on State Route 49 when he switched lanes to pass a van and collided head-on with a horse-drawn buggy carrying a family of four.
John Schwartz, his pregnant wife, and their 3-year-old son were taken to the hospital with injuries. Their 1-year-old daughter was pronounced dead at the scene. The horse pulling the buggy also died as a result of injuries from the crash.
Frech sustained injuries in the accident and was flown to a hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for treatment.
Frech is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 19.
