Bristolville man indicted in double fatal crash

Faces multiple counts of aggravated vehicular homicide

YOUNGSTOWN -- A Bristolville man who had two Milton Township motor vehicle crashes within two weeks -- one of them resulting in two deaths -- was indicted Friday on multiple counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and drunken driving.

Greg A. Barnhart, 33, was indicted by a Mahoning County grand jury on charges that could put him in prison for about 15 years if convicted.

Barnhart was driving a Ford F-350 truck pulling a trailer that crossed the center line along state Route 534 on Sept. 28. A crash report by the Ohio State Highway Patrol states Barnhart hit a GMC van nearly head-on, killing the van's driver and passenger.

The driver was Howard W. Mounts, 68, of New Middletown, owner of a cleaning company and other businesses. Mounts' passenger was Bradley J. Ronci, 34, of New Road in Austintown, who worked as a manager at Antone's Kitchen on Boardman-Canfield Road in Boardman.

After the crash, Barnhart was unsteady on his feet and his eyes appeared to be bloodshot, according to a highway patrol crash report. A trooper also observed Barnhart's speech to be "slow and slurred.

"Mr. Barnhart kept closing his eyes and had to be told several times by the (ambulance workers) to keep his eyes open," the report states.

A witness reported being behind the van a little before 9 a.m. and saw Barnhart's vehicle cross almost the vehicle's full width over the center line in the wrong lane.

Mounts swerved left to avoid Barnhart, but the two vehicles collided as Barnhart brought his vehicle back into his own lane, the report says.

The witness said Barnhart sat in her car while they waited for police, and Barnhart told her the crash happened because he swerved to miss a raccoon.

Another driver told troopers he was driving the opposite direction as Barnhart and had to drive off the road to avoid hitting a red truck with a trailer that had gone well over the center line. Barnhart's truck was red.

That witness said he also observed in his rearview mirror that the red truck then almost hit another vehicle after that.

Barnhart had a crash early Oct. 11 on Interstate 76 in the township that injured Barnhart and a Lake Milton woman, 28, who was in his vehicle.

Barnhart told troopers the reason for the crash near state Route 534 was that he swerved to miss something in the road.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Transportation has declared Barhart an "imminent hazard" and revoked his commercial driving privileges.

The agency's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued the order Thursday while Barnhart was in the Mahonng County jail on a parole violation connected to the crashes and a prison stint for Trumbull County burglaries.

An ODOT news release states the highway patrol cited Barnhart for driving under the influence of a Schedule 1 drug following the Sept. 28 crash and at least one other drug for which he had no valid prescription.

His employer required him to be drug tested after the Sept. 28 crash, but he failed to do so, resulting in him being terminated from his job, the news release states.