Columbus man sentenced to over 5 years after crash in Great Smoky Mountains park

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — A federal judge sentenced a 20-year-old Columbus man to over five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a crash at a national park that killed one of his passengers.

Bryce Allen Axline was sentenced to 65 months in federal prison on Thursday for vehicular homicide and vehicular assault.

Axline and his two female passengers were 19 years old when Axline crashed his car into an embankment at Great Smoky Mountains National Park on June 7, 2021.

One of the passengers died while the other was seriously injured. Axline received minor injuries.

Axline's blood alcohol was between .065 and .081, and prosecutors said there were multiple opened and closed alcohol containers inside the car, according to the plea agreement.

Prosecutors also said data from the car showed it fully accelerated at 100 percent in five seconds before the crash and was traveling at 90 miles per hour just before crashing. The speed limit was 45.

Axline's defense attorney told the court that he and his passengers were on a road trip to Florida. Axline pleaded guilty in July after his indictment on Sept. 19, 2021.

The National Park Service investigated the crash.