News
Athens Man Killed In Jackson County Crash
By: Sarah Hawley | Athens Messenger staff reporter
Posted on:
An Athens man was killed early Thursday morning in a two-vehicle crash on Route 35 in Jackson County.
Richard W. Cartwright II, 21, of Athens was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash at Route 35 and Twp. Road 213 (Cain Road) in Jackson Twp., Jackson County.
According to a news release from the the Jackson Post of the State Highway Patrol, a tractor trailer driven by Manuel D. Ortiz, 41, of East Rutherford, New Jersey, allegedly failed to yield from a stop sign from Cain Road onto Route 35.
The tractor trailer pulled into the path of the Nissan truck driven by Cartwright. The vehicle driven by Cartwright struck the trailer portion of the vehicle, traveling underneath and coming to a stop off the left side of the roadway. The crash happened at 5:39 a.m.
Ortiz allegedly failed to stop following the crash, proceeding east on Route 35 before being apprehended in Putnam County, West Virginia, by a Putnam County sheriff’s deputy.
Ortiz is expected to be extradited back to Ohio where he could face charges of vehicular homicide and failure to stop after a fatal crash.
The crash remains under investigation by the patrol.