Pa. man gets jail time in fatal Brookfield truck crash

Staff report

BROOKFIELD

Robert R. Arms, 39, of Tarentum, Pa., will spend 30 days in the Trumbull County jail after his conviction Thursday of vehicular homicide for causing the death of another truck driver in February 2015.

Arms was the driver of a furniture-delivery truck that struck a truck driven by Wayne R. Ayers, 56, of West Middlesex, Pa., on Feb. 24, on state Route 82 near Warner Road in Brookfield. Ayers died from his injuries March 22.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Arms failed to yield the right of way while turning left onto Route 82 from Warner Road, which caused the accident.

Arms and a passenger were seriously injured in the crash.

Arms was scheduled to go to trial Jan. 20 in Eastern District Court here, but he pleaded no contest Thursday to both misdemeanor charges he faced – vehicular homicide and failure to yield. Judge Robert Platt Jr. found him guilty.

Arms was allowed to report to the jail to begin serving his sentence Feb. 10. He will be on probation for one year after his jail time ends.

Judge Platt also fined Arms $510 and court costs and suspended his license for one year, though he will be granted work-related driving privileges if he provides proper documentation, according to court records.

The estate of Ayers filed a lawsuit in November in county common pleas court against Arms, his passenger, and the companies associated with the truck Arms was driving.

The suit seeks at least $25,000 in damages, claiming Arms “recklessly, carelessly and negligently operated a LA-Z-BOY box truck” in a way that caused Ayers’ death.

Ayers was born in Warren and attended Niles McKinley High School, according to his obituary.

He was an Army veteran. He leaves two daughters, two grandsons, a sister of Howland, and six brothers, including five from Warren and Niles.