‘He should’ve been in prison’: Repeat DUI driver accused of killing grandmother in drunk driving crash

ELYRIA, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - A man is accused of driving drunk and causing a crash that took the life of an Ohio grandmother.

The woman’s sister says their family is furious that the accused drunken driver remains free more than two months after the crash.

Penny Opdyke lost her older sister, 50-year-old Sherry Taylor, on July 7 when she was on her way to pick her up.

Opdyke said she waited and waited for her sister, but she never showed up.

“I heard sirens, and I thought maybe she was caught up in traffic behind an accident,” she said.

Unfortunately, Taylor was the one involved in the crash.

“She wanted to make sure that I got home safe and that ate me up because yes I got home safe, but she didn’t,” Opdyke said.

Elyria police body camera video showed the crash scene at the intersection of N. Abbe Road and State Route 57.

Police arrested 41-year-old Joshua Thompson in connection with the deadly collision. They said he was speeding northbound on State Road 57 when he didn’t stop at the red light and crashed into Taylor’s driver’s side door.

She died at the scene.

Officers reported Thompson was slurring his words and they could smell alcohol on him along with finding cans of beer scattered around his car.

Thompson was arrested for OVI. Officers said he admitted he had been drinking before the crash and refused all of the impairment tests.

“It’s almost sickening because there are Ubers and Lyfts,” Opdyke said.

This was not the first time Thompson had been arrested for drinking and driving. His first arrest was in 2001 at 17 years old.

He was found guilty of operating a motor vehicle after underage consumption and his license was suspended for a few months.

Two years later he was arrested for DWI and was found guilty. He had to do a 72-hour driver intervention course.

In 2011, Thompson was arrested again for OVI and failing to stop after an accident, but there wasn’t enough evidence, according to police, and the charges were dismissed.

Additionally, Thompson was arrested for OVI 1st offense in 2023.

According to an Elyria law director, if a certain amount of time passes a person’s previous crimes may not be counted against them – when asked how Thompson was charged with just a first offense.

Thompson’s OVI charge in 2023 ended up being reduced to reckless driving in a plea deal and his license was suspended until getting it back in February of this year.

“He should’ve been in prison not on the streets with all the OVIs that he’s had and the slap on the wrists he’s gotten,” Opdyke said. “And he’s still out right now.”

Elyria police said they will present a case to the Lorain County Grand Jury where more serious charges are likely regarding Thompson’s latest arrest.

But, in the meantime, he remains out of jail.

“You can kill my sister and still sit on your porch with a beer …,” Opdyke said.

The court could not confirm if Thompson’s driver’s license is currently suspended.

“She [Taylor] should definitely still be here,” Opdyke said.

Copyright 2024 WOIO via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.