Road rage earns jail time for Texas man

YOUNGSTOWN — An act of road rage has earned a Texas man several years of probation and a short stint in the county jail.

Fadil Galesic, 32, of Texas, appeared Friday before Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for sentencing on three counts of aggravated assault.

Galesic had entered into a plea agreement in early June amending three counts of felonious assault to three counts of aggravated assault.

The felonious-assault charges carried sentences of probation to eight years on each count.

The amended charges of aggravated assault carry penalties of probation to 18 months on each count.

Prosecutors recommended probation for Galesic. J. Michael Thompson, an assistant county prosecutor, previously told the court a standing conviction and restitution will be sufficient punishment from the prosecutor’s standpoint.

If there had been injuries, he said, the situation would be different.

Judge Krichbaum followed that recommendation, sentencing Galesic to three years’ probation, but on the stipulation that Galesic serve six months in the county jail.

Galesic had been free after posting $50,000 bond.

Before leaving court Friday, Galesic paid $250 to the victims to cover an insurance deductible for a car damaged in the incident.

Galesic was at an Austintown strip club April 5 when he got into a disagreement with some other patrons.

Galesic’s attorney Michael Kivlighan previously told the judge the disagreement appears to have started when someone made disparaging remarks about the club’s dancers.

Thompson said Galesic left the club around the same time as the other patrons, got into his truck and rammed their van, causing the vehicle to run off the road.

Galesic, who was said to be intoxicated, tried to drive off but was later captured and held by the people he ran off the road.


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Device uses driving habits to set insurance rate

A new type of car insurance that sets rates using a device installed in a vehicle to measure individual driving habits is being rolled out in Texas.

MyRateSM, offered by Progressive, has already been introduced in other parts of the country as part of a national rollout, depending on state regulatory approval.

Cars driven less often, in less risky ways and at less risky times of day could receive a lower premium using the device.

As an enticement, the company is offering Texas customers a first-term discount of as much as 10 percent when they sign up for MyRate and install the unit. When they renew their policy, they could save as much as 25 percent or more — or see their rates hiked by up to 9 percent — based on driving habits.

The company charges $30 per policy period for the use of the device.

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