WARREN Trucker jailed in accident

The judge also ordered the man to carry a picture of the victim in his wallet.
& lt;a href=mailto:sinkovich@vindy.com & gt;By PEGGY SINKOVICH & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A New Jersey truck driver who pleaded no contest to a count of vehicular manslaughter has been sentenced to 10 days in the county jail.
Judge Thomas Gysegem sentenced Jageep Singh during a 30-minute hearing Wednesday in municipal court.
Singh also was ordered to carry a picture of the victim in his wallet, lost his license for a year and was fined $750.
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, troopers believe the tractor-trailer driven by Singh struck a vehicle driven by Joseph J. Zipay of Vienna, setting off a chain-reaction crash. The Aug. 25 crash killed Vickie L. Dietrich, 50, of Poland, and injured others, including Zipay.
Where it happened
The tractor-trailer, a pickup truck, three cars and a van were involved in the crash. All were headed east on Route 82. The accident occurred where eastbound traffic on the Route 82 expressway is forced to slow quickly from highway speeds as it approaches a traffic light at Howland-Wilson Road.
Zipay and his wife, Diane, of Vienna, filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court against Singh. The suit states that because of the crash, Zipay suffered injuries to his "head, brain, neck and other body parts."
Attys. Timothy L. McGarry and Michael A. Partlow, who represented Singh, said their client doesn't know what caused the crash.
Family members of Dietrich said she was a wonderful person and her death has been very difficult for the family. One relative said that she doesn't hold Singh totally responsible; she noted that she also blames the Ohio Department of Transportation. She added that she believes ODOT has not taken care of the traffic problems in that area.
Judge Gysegem agreed, saying that stretch of Howland-Wilson Road and state Route 82 should be closed.
"That is one of the most deadly stretches of road," the judge said.
Another crash
In a June 14 accident just west of the scene of Singh's crash, Roberto Duebelt's tractor-trailer plowed into a line of traffic backed up on the eastbound exit ramp from 46 to 82, killing one person and injuring 11 others, the state patrol said.
Duebelt pleaded no contest to a charge of aggravated vehicular homicide. He told troopers he fell asleep at the wheel in that accident. Duebelt was sentenced in January to 10 days in the county jail.
& lt;a href=mailto:sinkovich@vindy.com & gt;sinkovich@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;