2 sentenced to prison in Preble County road rage crash

Thaddeus Michael Brown, 22, pleaded guilty to inciting violence. As part of his plea, three counts of complicity in the commission of a offense, two counts each of felonious assault and aggravated vehicular assault and one count each of vehicular assault, aggravated assault and endangering children were dismissed.

Daley and Brown were both sentenced to 18 months in prison, according to court records.

On Sept. 19, 2020, Daley was driving a 2011 Hyundai Sonata north in the southbound lane of Ohio 503 while Megan Riley, now 21, was driving a 2001 Toyota 4-Runner north in the northbound lane, according to a crash report filed by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Riley called Preble County 911 dispatchers at about 1:20 a.m. frantically screaming that a vehicle was trying to run her off the road.

The vehicles were side-by-side when the Toyota went left of center, causing the Hyundai to go off the left side of the road, where it hit a refrigerator, curb and boulder before it went airborne and split a telephone pole in half and flipped end over end, the report stated.

The Toyota returned to the northbound lane before it went off the right side of the road, hit a tree stump and overturned before catching fire, according to the crash report.

Riley suffered serious injuries and was reportedly pulled from the crash with second- and third-degree burns on more than half her body. CareFlight transported her to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton.

Daley had minor injuries along with Brown, who was a passenger in the Hyundai.

Troopers and the Preble County Sheriff’s Office jointly investigated the incident, which reportedly stemmed from a bonfire party attended by Riley at a house on Somers-Gratis Road.

Multiple people, some of them teens, gave statements about what caused the dispute, with varying stories. Riley left the party driving a Toyota 4-Runner, and another vehicle followed, according to the investigation. When the crash happened, the vehicles were in excess of 90 mph, according to the highway patrol. The speed limit is 55 mph.