Michael Barch,Karys Seipel Obituary, Death; – A woman who caused the deaths of a young couple in Warren County by running a red light at speeds exceeding 100 MPH has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Mary Ellen Huelsman, 59, received the maximum penalty on Friday after being found guilty of both aggravated and non-aggravated vehicular homicide last month, as reported by the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office.
Judge Timothy Tepe of Warren County also mandated a lifetime suspension of Huelsman’s driver’s license. The Bellbrook resident was convicted of running a red light at 107 MPH on Ohio 48, colliding with a vehicle occupied by 20-year-old Michael Barch and 19-year-old Karys Seipel, resulting in their deaths.
Huelsman was traveling southbound in an SUV when she disregarded the traffic signal at the Lytle Five Point intersection, crashing into Barch’s car. The impact propelled Barch’s vehicle 250 feet into a utility pole, igniting a fire before emergency responders arrived. Due to the severity of their injuries, Barch and Seipel’s bodies were initially unidentifiable.
“Ten years in prison for this type of conduct is wholly inadequate for the devastation Huelsman inflicted upon Michael, Karys, and their family and friends,” stated Warren County Prosecutor David P. Fornshell. “Nonetheless, we appreciate Judge Tepe for imposing the maximum sentence allowable under Ohio law.”
Huelsman’s defense team attempted to argue for her acquittal on the grounds of insanity, a claim that was dismissed by Judge Tepe, according to the prosecutor’s announcement. The couple were recent high school graduates. Barch and Seipel had both graduated from Springboro High School and were looking forward to celebrating their second anniversary in June, as noted in Seipel’s obituary.
At the time of the incident, Barch had just completed his second year of accounting studies at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. His family described him as a young man with remarkable potential, always cheerful and recognized by many as a “light” and “pure soul.”
