Man sentenced in ‘brake-checking’ case

COLUMBIANA, Ohio (WKBN) — A Leetonia man who was charged following an incident with another car that both drivers called a “brake check” was sentenced in Mahoning County District Court in Canfield.

Adam Tittle pleaded guilty this week to a reduced charge of physical control and was sentenced to 12 months probation and a three-month license suspension with privileges. He was initially charged with OVI. A charge of assured clear distance was dismissed.

The incident was investigated after officers with the Columbiana County Police Department reported witnessing a Jeep rear-end a car in the area of state Routes 46 and 14 just after midnight on May 19.

When officers spoke to the driver of the car, she claimed to be having a panic attack and stated she was hurt, requesting an ambulance. Reports state she was found to have a suspended driver’s license.

The Youngstown woman told police the driver of the Jeep, later identified as Tittle, rammed into her vehicle three times. The woman told police that she was driving on state Route 46 behind the Jeep when it “brake-checked” her a couple of times and she passed it. She told police that after she passed the Jeep, it accelerated and followed her very closely before ramming into her three times after she braked.

Tittle told police the car kept “brake-checking” him, and when asked how many times he struck the car, Tittle said twice, the report stated. A passenger in the Jeep told police the car “brake-checked” Tittle, which caused him to hit it “a few times.”

Reports state Tittle also had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, along with slurred speech and glassy eyes. When asked, reports state Tittle told police he had two drinks of “Bean and Coke (sic).” Police conducted a field sobriety test and placed Tittle under arrest for OVI.

The driver of the car appeared in court and pleaded no contest to the charge of driving while under suspension.

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