Felonies withdrawn against driver charged in fatal Donegal Township crash
A man charged in a fatal 2024 crash in Donegal Township saw the most serious felony counts withdrawn following his preliminary hearing Thursday.
Jubal Wallace Osborn, 20, of Industry, Pa., appeared before Judge Curtis Thompson and pleaded guilty to summary traffic violations of disregarding a traffic lane, reckless driving and driving at a safe speed.
The Washington County district attorney’s office, withdrew charges of homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter. Osborn will have his driver’s license suspended for six months.
Osborn was the driver in a crash that occurred around 3 a.m. June 23, 2024, near the one mile marker on Interstate 70 eastbound in Donegal Township. Killed in the crash was 18-year-old Kaylee Ogea.
Ogea, of Shawboro, N.C., was Osborn’s girlfriend.
Deputy District Attorney Megan Faust said Ogea’s mother had asked for leniency, and did not wish to see Osborn prosecuted on felony charges.
Osborn was represented in the case by Pittsburgh attorney Justin Ketchel. Ketchel said withdrawing the felony charges was “an appropriate course of action.”
“Ultimately, both sides came to the realization that this was a car accident and not a crime. Withdrawing the criminal charges was the most appropriate thing to do for all parties,” Ketchel said.
Court records state that Osborn was driving about 85 mph in a 65 mph zone when he went off the road and hit an embankment. The vehicle went over the hillside and caught fire.
The vehicle belonged to Ogea, who was sitting in the front passenger seat.
At the time of her death, Ogea had been studying criminal justice at Robert Morris University. The school has since established a memorial fund in her name.