Driver in fatal crash sentenced

A tip from Crime Stoppers helped solve the crime.

STAFF REPORT

WARREN — A 22-year-old Stoneboro, Pa., man has been sentenced to two years in prison for causing the death of a 38-year-old Liberty man by driving his pickup truck into him on state Route 82 in 2007 and leaving the scene.

Dwayne M. Redinger Jr. of Lander Street Extension, near the eastern edge of Mercer County, was sentenced this week in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.

Redinger was southbound on Collar-Price Road in Brookfield when he drove his pickup truck into the path of Michael D. Brown, a husband and father of three from Sampson Drive, who was westbound on a motorcycle.

The accident occurred Aug. 16, 2007, but the case went unsolved for nearly nine months.

In May 2008, Redinger surrendered to police and confessed to being the truck driver, said Mike Burnett, an assistant county prosecutor.

Redinger surrendered after someone provided information in an anonymous letter to police, followed by a tip given to the Greater Youngstown Crime Stoppers hotline.

Lt. Joseph Dragovich of the Warren post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said the Crime Stoppers information gave investigators a more accurate description of the truck, and that enabled them to interview Redinger two days before he turned himself in.

A witness to the accident gave investigators an inaccurate description of the pickup truck, Dragovich said, which slowed the investigation.

Redinger said he traveled to Brookfield that night to attend the Fireball Truck Night, which is on Collar-Price Road, just south of the Route 82 intersection, Burnett said.

Redinger said he missed the southbound turn onto Collar-Price, went northbound to turn around and drove into the path of Brown on his way across the intersection with Route 82, Burnett said.

Redinger had a stop sign, while Brown had no traffic light or stop sign. Brown was wearing a helmet.

Redinger pleaded guilty in December to aggravated vehicular homicide, a misdemeanor and felonies of tampering with evidence and failure to stop after an accident.

The misdemeanor carries a penalty of up to six months in jail, and the felonies each carry a penalty of up to five years.

The tampering charge was brought because Redinger removed a distinctive flag decal on the back window of his pickup truck after the accident in an effort to avoid being detected, Burnett said.

runyan@vindy.com