Fremont man charged with vehicular homicide

OREGON – A Fremont man has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide after crashing into the rear of a vehicle that was stopped at a light, causing a chain-reaction crash that killed one.

Jacob Greer, 24, was treated for minor injuries at Mercy St. Charles Hospital. He was questioned after his release from the hospital by police detectives in the Toledo suburb of Oregon.

Greer told police he was unsure how fast he was traveling while westbound on Ohio 51 in a red Mercury Milan when he crashed into a stopped Honda Fit, driven by Gregory Small, 31, of Toledo.

The impact caused Small's vehicle to crash into a Buick LeSabre that also was stopped at the light. The driver of the Buick, Sean Lutzmann, 27, of Oregon, died from injuries sustained in the crash.

The report says Greer told police he remembered looking away from the road before the crash. He told police he estimated he was driving 40 miles per hour.

Greer told police he pressed the brake pedal to the floor to avoid the crash, but the brakes failed to work.

"He (Greer) quickly reacted by pulling on the emergency brake," the report said. "He stated he thought he was in the curb lane and was almost positive that a car was coming at him head-on when all this happened."

In the report, Greer told officers he took an anti-anxiety pill at 6 a.m. the morning of the crash. The crash occurred at 7:33 a.m. Thursday.

The report said Greer told officers the pill was prescribed to his sister and that she gave it to him because Greer told her he was anxious. He did not explain to police why he was anxious, according to the report.

Lutzmann, who had been trapped inside his car, was taken to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo where he was pronounced dead, the report said.

Small was listed in stable condition at Bay Park Hospital with a headache and numbness in the left side of his body.

cshoup@gannett.com

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