Michigan man pleads not guilty in deadly Alexis Road crash

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - The man who was indicted in connection to the deadly Alexis Road crash in May pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

Joshua Whitaker, of Erie, Michigan, was charged with two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, aggravated vehicular assault and vehicular assault charges in August. Whitaker appeared in court on Sept. 21 and pleaded not guilty. A judge set his bond at $50,000 at no 10%.

According to Toledo Police, on May 5, 2022, Whitaker was driving westbound on Alexis Road while William Gergich Jr., 31, of Holland, and a 27-year-old passenger was driving eastbound. TPD says Whitaker allegedly lost control of his car and drove right into the path of Gergich’s car.

TPD says all three people involved were taken out of their cars. Gergich and Whitaker suffered from blunt force trauma injuries and were taken to area hospitals where Gergich later died from his injuries.

A pretrial date has been set for Oct. 26 at 9:00 a.m.