DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) – Former Ohio State Football player Kirk Barton has been charged with aggravated vehicular manslaughter in relation to a fatal crash that occurred in Dublin on Saturday morning.
Barton, 40, of Lewis Center, is suspected of driving a Ford F150 Raptor pickup truck “at a high rate of speed” eastbound on U.S. 33 before entering Historic Dublin just before 3 a.m. He then struck a Lexus on West Bridge Street, just west of Franklin Street, according to the City of Dublin.
The driver of the Lexus, 24-year-old Ethan Perry, was pronounced dead at the scene. Barton sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was later released from a local hospital into police custody.
Franklin County court records show Barton was charged with a second-degree felony count of aggravated vehicular manslaughter as the result of operating a vehicle under the influence.
Barton played football at Ohio State from 2003 to 2007. He has multiple previous traffic-related offenses, court records show.
