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Grove City approves ordinance raising penalties for distracted driving that causes paralysis
Summary
Grove City Council on March 3 approved Ordinance C0625, which expands local penalties for distracted driving that results in serious physical harm to explicitly include paralysis. Supporters urged tougher enforcement; council approved the ordinance by voice/roll-call vote.
Grove City Council approved Ordinance C0625 on March 3 to amend Part 3 of the codified ordinances to increase penalties for distracted driving and for violations in a crosswalk that result in serious physical harm, explicitly adding paralysis as an example of serious physical harm.
The ordinance is aimed at increasing local penalties for motor-vehicle conduct that results in catastrophic injuries to pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users. During the public comment period, two residents urged the council to adopt stricter penalties.
Sandra [last name redacted], who identified herself as a Grove City resident at 2971 Woodgrove Drive and an advocate for victims of catastrophic injuries, described paralysis as “close to death” and urged the council to treat paralysis as a more serious category of harm. She said distracted and reckless driving cause “catastrophic injuries and traumatic brain injuries” and called for harsher penalties and increased enforcement.
Sharon Montgomery, who said she had urged the city on these issues in the past, praised the city’s prior work including the 2024 ordinance that made causing physical harm by distraction a second-degree misdemeanor and endorsed the new language specifying paralysis. Montgomery cited the Ohio Revised Code definition of serious physical harm and noted state-level efforts to raise penalties for traffic offenses that result in serious injury or death; she said cities cannot make misdemeanors into felonies and that the local ordinance is the strongest option available to the city.
Councilmembers said the city had already increased penalties in 2024 and that C0625 adds additional language to ensure paralysis is captured in the local standard for “serious physical harm.” The ordinance had its second reading and a public hearing that evening and was moved and seconded for approval.
A roll-call was taken after the motion; council recorded a vote in favor and the ordinance was approved. (Recorded yes votes in the transcript include Hauck, Gary, Dew, Burrows, Anderson and Wilson; the transcript records other councilmembers voting yes as well.)
The ordinance text will be incorporated into Part 3 of the Grove City Codified Ordinances; the council did not refer any additional amendments to staff at the meeting.
