Bond set at $500K for driver accused of killing trooper

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Bond has been set at $500,000 for a motorist accused of fatally hitting a veteran Ohio trooper along a Cleveland interstate while driving under the influence of drugs.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol says 37-year-old Joshua Gaspar, of Columbia Station, was arrested Thursday at the scene and charged with aggravated vehicular homicide.

He’s been held in a Cleveland jail. Court records listed no attorney for him Saturday.

Authorities allege Gaspar swerved to avoid another vehicle on Interstate 90 and struck Trooper Kenneth Velez while the 48-year-old officer was standing inside the berm conducting traffic enforcement.

Cleveland.com reports Gaspar previously pleaded guilty to drug possession in 2008 after being found with crack cocaine. He was allowed to enter a drug treatment program.

Velez’s funeral is planned Thursday, after visitation Wednesday in Lorain.