Early release for 2 men who killed their friend in 2024 Camden Twp. UTV crash

ELYRIA — Two men who caused the death of their friend in a utility vehicle crash in Camden Township in 2024 will be getting out of jail early, a Lorain County Common Pleas judge ruled Monday. David Tipple and Jordon Phillips pleaded guilty to felony charges in the crash that killed Kyle Hill, 24, of Camden Township and were sentenced in April to six months in jail. At a brief hearing in his courtroom on Monday, Judge Chris Cook said that both men will be released early, though he didn't specify how long they had left to serve. He said he would issue his orders within 24 hours. Cook had promised at sentencing that he would consider early release depending on how the men behaved behind bars. He said Monday they will remain on community control, formerly known as probation, for five years with their driver's licenses suspended for three years. Tipple, 28, of Wakeman Township in Huron County, pleaded guilty to felonious assault and aggravated vehicular homicide, both felonies, and misdemeanor reckless operation. Tipple told Cook jail was an "insane experience." He said he was "surrounded with a lot of people I never knew I didn't want to be around." "I figured out where I don't want to spend the rest of my life," Tipple said, and that he planned to go back to work on his family farm. Phillips, 26, of Camden Township, pleaded guilty to felonious assault and aggravated vehicular homicide, plus misdemeanor DUI and reckless operation. He said when released, he would go back to his two jobs, including working on his family farm. On his time in jail, Phillips said he "never thought I'd foresee myself like that, being around people like that. I just tried to lay as low as possible." Lorain County Jail authorities informed the court that they had no problems with either man during their first 30 days in jail. Hill died after the Polaris RZR side-by-side he was riding in rolled on top of him after overturning in a field along state Route 303 on Nov. 16, 2024. Phillips had been driving the vehicle under the influence of alcohol. The two friends had just "turfed" their friend Tipple's lawn, and he had chased them and cut them off in his Ford F-150 when they crashed. Hill's mother Deela Sutton had asked Cook to send the men to prison. In court Monday, she called a 30-day jail sentence "a slap in my face." "I just don't feel like it's fair that I get to live a life without my son and that they get 30 days in jail," she said, sobbing. "I just don't see that being fair at all. I lost my son. I live my life without him. I don't want to see them out. I don't. It's not fair." Cook promised Sutton that the court would "keep a pretty tight rein" on Phillips and Tipple for the next five years. Phillips agreed to testify against Tipple if Tipple had taken his case to trial. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Contact Bruce Bishop at bishop1212@gmail.com.