May 6, 2021
Staff photo / Ed Runyan
John Wardle, right, got emotional while talking to Judge Anthony Donofrio of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday as he was sentenced to four years in prison for being drunk and crashing a car, killing a friend. His attorneys, from left, are Kevin Daley and Mark Hanni.
YOUNGSTOWN — John A. Wardle, 32, of South Avenue, was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday for being the drunk driver who crashed a car at 2:15 a.m. July 8, 2019, on state Route 164 in Beaver Township that killed passenger Mohammad Musleh, 28.
Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Trapp told Judge Anthony Donofrio that Wardle’s blood alcohol level was .201 — nearly three times the legal limit of .08, and he was driving 75 to 78 mph in a 45 mph zone when the crash took place. The road has only two lanes.