Van Wert woman sentenced in fatal parking lot accident

A Van Wert woman has been sentenced to house arrest and community control for a fatal crash in the Ruler Foods parking lot.

Barbara Nickles, 66, received 90 days of electronic house arrest, one year of community control, and a 7 p.m.–6 a.m. curfew. Her driver’s license was suspended for five years with no driving privileges. She must also complete a remedial driving course and pay court costs and partial attorney fees.

The case stems from a July 28 incident where Nickles reversed her vehicle at high speed, striking pedestrian Omar Sites, who later died on August 11. Several parked cars were also hit.

Nickles pleaded no contest in October to a misdemeanor vehicular homicide charge.

Her attorney described the crash as a tragic accident while prosecutors requested the maximum license suspension. Judge Martin Burchfield encouraged Nickles to seek counseling and noted she had four prior accidents when issuing the sentence.