Ohio Father, Son Charged in Teen’s DUI Death

A father and son in central Ohio are facing misdemeanor charges of allowing an 18-year-old to drink at their house before he crashed his car and died.

The father and son, Brian and Cameron Willms, were charged under the city’s “social-host ordinance.” The first-degree misdemeanor carries a jail term of up to 180 days.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that 18-year-old Stephen Romanelli drove away from the Willms’ home in the Columbus suburb of Dublin on Aug. 3 and died when his car hit a tree. He was speeding and his blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit.

The Willmses told police that the father didn’t know the son’s underage friends were drinking in the basement that night. They did not respond to messages seeking comment.