FREMONT, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio motorist traveling at more than 125 mph was charged Friday with vehicular homicide after his car struck a minivan, killing a couple inside, the State Highway Patrol said.
Andrew D. Gans, of Kent, faces two counts of vehicular homicide with a reckless specification after Thursday night’s crash on the Ohio Turnpike, where both vehicles burst into flames.
The victims, Wilbur and Margaret McCoy, both 77, of Toledo, were wearing seatbelts when they were hit and were trapped inside of the minivan, the patrol said.
Gans, 24, suffered injuries that were not life-threatening and was hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation at a Toledo hospital, said staff Lt. Anne Ralston, a patrol spokeswoman. He was later released from the hospital and taken to Lucas County jail, according to the hospital and jail records.
Gans has spoken with investigators, but Ralston declined to comment on what he said or whether he offered any explanation for his alleged erratic driving.
No court date has been set, and the case will go to a grand jury. The patrol said the incident remains under investigation.
Two troopers separately spotted Gans’ car but weren’t able to catch or keep up with it before the crash near Fremont, about 40 miles southeast of Toledo, Ralston said.
Other drivers began calling dispatchers about the speeding, weaving vehicle just before 7 p.m., about 20 minutes before it crashed into the back of the minivan. The driver covered roughly 60 miles in that time and passed two troopers, each of whom tried to pull behind the car but lost sight of it as it sped away, Ralston said.
“Just because it was going so fast, we were never able to get into a position where we were actually engaged in a pursuit with it,” Ralston said. “We were simply trying to catch up and intercept this vehicle and get it stopped.”
