A minivan driver accused of striking and killing a Columbus man and severely injuring his wife, who were walking along Taylor Road a year ago, is scheduled to go on trial.
A jury trial for Michael DeMaio, 37, of 2023 Chandler Lane, is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. Monday in Bartholomew Superior Court 2 before Judge Kathleen “Kitty” Tighe Coriden at the county courthouse.
The defendant is accused of hitting and killing Ansul Sharma, 30, a Cummins engineer, and severely injuring his wife, Samira Bhardwaj, who was 28 at the time of the accident, court documents state. The couple is originally from India, where Bhardwaj has since returned to recuperate from her severe injuries.
DeMaio is accused of four felonies:
- Two counts of leaving the scene of an accident.
- Causing death when operating a motor vehicle with a controlled substance in his system.
- Causing serious bodily injury when operating a motor vehicle with a controlled substance in his system.
Penalties on the felonies range from 16 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for the most serious offenses to a low of six months in prison and a $10,000 fine for lesser crimes.
Deputy Prosecutor Lindsey Kay is the lead prosecutor in the case, assisted by chief deputy prosecutor Kathy Burns. DeMaio is represented by attorneys Brett Hayes, Brent Gill and Jason Smith.
Bartholomew County Prosecutor Bill Nash said he doesn’t think the county has ever had a case of this significance go to a jury trial in Superior Court 2 in the more than 15 years that he has been prosecutor.
Bartholomew Superior Court 2 issued a request March 20 for 85 prospective jurors to be called to possibly serve at the trial.
The incident happened at 7:15 p.m. March 26, 2017, as the couple was walking north on Taylor Road in the bicycle lane near the entrance to Four Seasons Retirement Center, 1901 Taylor Road, court records state.
DeMaio told police he had left his Chandler Lane home in a red minivan, headed to work on the night shift at NTN Driveshaft, court documents state. DeMaio was feeling tired when he left home, and had reached Taylor Road and U.S. 31 when he realized he had forgotten his NTN identification and began heading back home to get it, court documents state.
The defendant told police he was driving north on Taylor approaching Lakeside Drive when “he closed his eyes and his vehicle must have drifted off the roadway,” a probable-cause affidavit in the case states. He then “woke up when his vehicle collided with an object,” DeMaio told police, according to the affidavit.
On the day of the incident, a witness told police he had seen the couple walking on Taylor Road and later saw a red minivan traveling fast and swerving on the road south on Chandler Lane, the affidavit states. The minivan had a damaged front windshield and damage to the passenger side, the witness told police.
Police put out a description of the suspect and vehicle, and Columbus police officer Ivan Schultz located the vehicle a short distance away at DeMaio’s home, the affidavit states.
DeMaio waived his rights and spoke with police there, telling them he did not know what he had collided with and that he had struggled to keep the vehicle on the roadway after the collision, the affidavit states. When he regained control of the van, he continued driving north and drove home, the affidavit states.
When first responders arrived, police found Bhardwaj on the ground with faint breath and Sharma nearby. He was pronounced dead by the Bartholomew County Coroner’s office, with the cause of death given as blunt force trauma to his head and upper cervical spine.
An initial field sobriety test on DeMaio showed that he tested negative for alcohol intoxication after he was found at his home — a few minutes east of the accident scene by car, police said.
DeMaio did consent to a blood draw at Columbus Regional Hospital, court records state. Field sobriety tests conducted with DeMaio indicated his speech was slurred, his eyes were bloodshot and his balance was poor after police located him after the accident, investigators said.
In July, toxicology results showed methamphetamine was detected in DeMaio’s test results, investigators said.
After his arrest, DeMaio was released from custody after posting 10 percent of a $75,000 bond at the Bartholomew County Jail, court records state.
The prosecution and defense have filed witness lists for the trial, with the defense including DeMaio and his wife on their list, and the prosecution planning to call numerous police officers, Coroner Clayton Nolting and a witness from the state Department of Toxicology. The defense also listed an unnamed toxicology expert on its witness list.
Samira Bhardwaj, who suffered severe injuries in the accident, was initially listed as a witness in the case, but the prosecutor’s office now believes she is unable to travel from India due to her medical condition. Instead, her brother Ketan Bhardwaj is scheduled to testify in the trial about his sister and her husband, and his sister’s injuries and current medical status.
In October 2017, at the prosecution’s request, Coriden dismissed three additional counts that had been filed against DeMaio, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury, and operating a vehicle with a Schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in the body.
Also in October, the court allowed the prosecution to amend the four charges remaining against DeMaio that will be decided at trial.
