Published on October 30, 2025 3:10 pm
Last Updated on October 30, 2025 3:10 pm
A Mason resident has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to Aggravated DUI Drugs Causing Death. A seven-month-old was fatally injured in the April 2024 crash at Moccasin Road and Lake Sara Road that led to the charge.
41-year-old Joshua Wendt was sentenced to seven years in prison. The count could have resulted in a sentence of from three to 14 years.
The crash resulted in the death of James Austin Warren of Beecher City. Authorities said the infant was properly buckled into the vehicle.
State police reported that Wendt’s vehicle struck a car driven by 28-year-old Jordan Warren of Beecher City, and the car then struck the rear of a stopped truck driven by 77-year-old William Fruth of Effingham. Both Warren and a passenger in the Fruth truck were injured.
