Alliance driver gets prison time for drunken driving crash that killed Beloit area woman

CANTON ‒ A 35-year-old Alliance man has been sentenced to spend seven to 10.5 years in prison for causing a traffic collision that killed an 85-year-old woman from the Beloit area in June.

Stark County Common Pleas Judge Natalie R. Haupt sentenced Undray E. Benefield on Monday after he pleaded no contest to aggravated vehicular homicide, operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse or a combination of them, and driving with a suspended license.

Haupt found him guilty.

Police reports said Benefield was driving 70 mph on South Seneca Avenue in Alliance while intoxicated when he drove through a red light at East State Street and hit the driver's side of the car driven by Virginia M. Graham. The car she was driving spun and hit a light pole. The crash occurred around 9:20 p.m.

Benefield's vehicle came to a stop approximately 50 feet south of the intersection. He also was injured.

The defendant had a prior OVI conviction in Canton Municipal Court in 2017.

Graham was a native of Catslettburg, Kentucky, who attended West Branch High School. She worked as a nurse’s aide at a nursing home, according to her obituary. She was a member of Alliance Believers Church.

Her memorial tribute said she was survived by son Fred Graham Sr.; daughters, Lisa (Charles) Rogers and Rosalie (Craig) VanCamp; grandchildren, Fred Graham Jr., Brittany (Gary) Showalter, Jake Graham, Tyler Graham, Ashley VanCamp, Jonathan VanCamp, Elih Graham, and Tessa Graham; three great-grandchildren; eight sisters; one brother; and many nieces, nephews and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband Orda H. Graham and sons Orda Jr. and Howard Graham.

Arrest: Police: Alliance man, 34, arrested for a deadly crash that killed a Beloit woman

June 20: Woman, 85, dies after two-vehicle crash in Alliance

Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Undray Benefield gets prison for killing Virginia Graham in crash