Ex-athlete to plead in double fatality
Staff writer
A Tabor football player who crashed his car south of Hillsboro, killing two passengers, has reached a plea agreement in a criminal case filed against him.
At the time of the accident Feb. 27, 2022, Jonathan M. Medina was a 22-year-old, 5-foot-11, 170-pound freshman fullback from Arlington High School in Riverside, California.
Medina’s 2001 Toyota 4Runner left Indigo Rd. at Feb. 27. 2022, at a correction jog south of Hillsboro, overturned against an embankment, and burst into flames.
Passengers, Chris J. Castillo, 22, of Tustin, California, and Johnethon J. Aviles, 23, of Paso Robles, California, who also were football players, died at the scene.
Hillsboro ambulance took Medina to Wesley Medical Center, Wichita.
Medina was not charged until nearly three years after the accident. On Jan. 27, he was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
County Attorney Michelle Brown said her predecessor, Joel Ensey, did not file charges, but Mothers Against Drunk Drivers complained, so she filed charges after he left office.
Details of Medina’s plea agreement are not yet available in court files, nor is a recommended sentence.
Arraignment, when Medina would be expected to enter his plea on the charges, is scheduled for Tuesday.
Brown said she was not requesting prison time because Medina is now quadriplegic.
Lasandra Aviles, presumably a relative of one of the victims, filed suit against Medina in July 2023.
Johnson County court records do not show the petition against Medina, so Lasandra Aviles’ relationship to Johnethon J. Aviles is not known.
The case there was dismissed three months ago for lack of prosecution.