Former Ohio State lineman, charged in Dublin fatal crash, had prior impairment incidents
DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) – A former Ohio State football player charged in a deadly crash that occurred in the heart of the Historic Dublin district faced a judge Monday afternoon.
Kirk Barton, 40, of Lewis Center, who was indicted last week on two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and two counts of operating a motor vehicle while impaired, appeared in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas for an arraignment hearing.
The charges stem from a fatal crash on June 21, when Barton allegedly drove a Ford F150 Raptor pickup truck “at a high rate of speed” in the wrong direction, westbound on U.S. 33 before turning around and crashing into Ethan Perry, 24, of Columbus.
Perry, driving a 2012 Lexus IS 250, was pronounced dead at the scene while Barton sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was later released from a local hospital into police custody.
Barton, who has previously been charged with multiple traffic-related offenses, including two OVI-incidents in which he pleaded guilty to amended charges, reportedly had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, admitted to drinking alcohol and could not answer other basic questions, prosecutors said.
The crash shut down West Bridge Street and North High Street in both directions, as well as the westbound portion of the State Route 161 and Riverside Drive roundabout. Roadways reopened approximately seven hours later, just after 10 a.m.
Barton, who pleaded not guilty in court Monday, was initially given a $500,000 bond on June 23 and ordered not to operate a motor vehicle. His formal arraignment hearing was rescheduled from August 13 to Monday afternoon, when a judge upheld the bond amount along with all of its conditions, which also includes a scram bracelet, which measures alcohol consumption in the owner's perspiration.
The former offensive lineman played football at Ohio State from 2003 to 2007.