Marcus Hagans walked into the Logan County Court of Common Pleas Friday morning a free man and left the courtroom in handcuffs, taken to the Logan County Jail to await transfer to state prison.
Hagans changed his plea from not guilty to guilty to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide, a felony of the second degree.
During the sentencing hearing, the victim’s mother, Sheila Wetsel, addressed the court, telling the judge that no mother should have to bury her child and then watch her grandchildren (Harmoni and Huston) grow up and reach life milestones without her.
Hagans then addressed the family through the court:
Judge Kevin Braig expressed sympathy to the family, sharing a personal story about his wife’s mother being killed in an automobile crash.
He told the family that his heart goes out to them and that they are in his prayers.
Moments later, Judge Braig sentenced Hagans to six to nine years in prison, followed by 18 months to three years of post-release control.
The judge also ordered Hagans’ driver’s license suspended for three years following his release from prison.
Logan County’s Logan County Prosecutor’s Office handled the case.
Following the sentencing, Assistant Prosecutor Nathan Yohey commentedon the outcome of the case:
The sentence stems from a crash that happened in June 2024.
On the morning of June 18, 2024, Hagans, then 37, of Springfield, was driving a Polaris Slingshot on County Road 29 when he failed to negotiate a curve, left the right side of the roadway, struck a tree line, and overturned the vehicle, which came to rest on its top.
Hagans was taken to Mary Rutan Hospital with suspected serious injuries.
His passenger, Brittnie Whetsel, 32, of Bellefontaine, was also transported to the hospital with serious injuries.
She passed away the following day as a result of those injuries.
According to deputies with the Logan County Sheriff’s Office, Hagans was possibly under the influence of medications, drugs, or alcohol at the time of the crash.
Investigators also stated that Hagans initially denied being the driver of the vehicle, but deputies later determined that he was, in fact, driving at the time of the crash.
Following a lengthy investigation, the Logan County Grand Jury indicted Hagans on August 14, 2025, on two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, one a second-degree felony and one a third-degree felony.
Hagans was arrested on July 22, 2025, without incident.
He only served two days.
Friday’s sentencing brings the case to a close more than a year and a half after the crash that claimed Whetsel’s life.
