Unlicensed driver
Crash kills wife, fetus
Man runs red light, is hit by salt truck, police say; son hurt

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/lo ... ml?sid=101

This is a tragic story. The driver is unlicensed and has never held a driver's license or social security number. I seriously doubt the Dispatch will do a follow up story. They usually fail to report we have illegal alien criminals living here.

I called the Perry Township police dept. and their secetary (Lori) confirmed he is an illegal alien. He has been reported to ICE and will not be released. She said he wasn't going any where, but wouldn't answer my direct question regarding his being held, by ICE. Perhaps I didn't phrase my question correctly.

My wife works in this are. This guy could have just as easily rammed into her car. She wouldn't be driving at 6 a.m., but drucks drive druck at all hours.

I do feel sorry for the kids. They're presently in the County's "Children Services" care. They have loset their Mother and a brother or sister, their Dad's in jail.

I'll check for additional news. Hopefully, the 12 o'clock news reports he's an illegal alien. I seriously doubt the Dispatch will.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008 3:25 AM
By Matthew Marx

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

PERRY TWP. (N.W. Columbus, OH) - An unlicensed driver is accused of causing a collision with a salt truck that killed his pregnant wife and the fetus early yesterday and fractured the skull of his 2-year-old son.

Last night, Perry Township police arrested Alfonso Martinez, 29, of the Northwest Side, in the death of his wife, Paula Martinez, who was said to be nine months pregnant. He is charged with two felony counts of aggravated vehicular homicide.

Police said alcohol might have played a role in the crash.

Mrs. Martinez, whose age was unavailable, died at Riverside Methodist Hospital, where her husband also had been admitted before being taken to jail. Their son Juan Martinez, 2, was in critical condition at Nationwide Children's Hospital with a fractured skull, said Sgt. Michael Bleas of the Perry Township Police Department.

Two daughters of Mrs. Martinez's -- Mariela Reyes, 7, and Gabriela Reyes, 4 -- were treated and released into the custody of Franklin County Children Services, Bleas said.

Mr. Martinez, of 2008-B Country Corners Rd., already was wanted on an arrest warrant because he never paid $412 from a 2006 conviction for driving without a license, Franklin County Municipal Court records show.

(He would have also been driving without insurance.)

"He never had a driver's license. He never had a Social Security number," Bleas said.

Investigators were awaiting results of a blood test ordered for Martinez after the crash, which occurred at 5:58 a.m. at Hayden Run Road and Riverside Drive, Bleas said. (between Dublin & Upper Arlington)

Martinez was eastbound on Hayden Run in a 1991 Toyota Camry, with his wife in the front passenger seat and the three children in the back seat. No one was wearing a seat belt. The boy was in a car seat that wasn't fastened properly, crash investigators said.

Martinez was going about 40 mph when he ran a red light into the path of an Ohio Department of Transportation salt truck that was northbound on Riverside spreading salt at 25 mph, said Perry Township Officer Tim Malone, crash investigator.

Malone said he found skid marks in the intersection that indicate the truck driver braked but was unable to avoid broadsiding the Toyota, which never braked.

Mrs. Martinez, who was two weeks from her scheduled delivery date, was pinned in the car, Bleas said.

Police officers who responded sought a blood test of Mr. Martinez for suspicion of drunken driving based on his erratic behavior.

"A witness smelled alcohol," Malone said. "That was our first indication that he had been drinking."

At the hospital, Mr. Martinez couldn't tell Malone the age of his wife, police said.

Investigators were awaiting results of that blood test, which would be available today at the earliest.

The truck driver, Charles E. Spring, 53, couldn't be reached for comment.

He was on a routine salting patrol out of ODOT's Hilliard post, department spokeswoman Nancy Burton said.

"It's just tragic all the way around," Burton said.

That the purpose of Spring's work was to prevent accidents wasn't lost on Bleas.

"The sad thing about that is, now, through no fault of his own, this truck driver is involved in the crash and someone has died," Bleas said. "It's not his fault whatsoever, but it doesn't make it any easier.

"If it were me, I don't think I'd be driving for a while. It really shakes you up."

Dispatch reporter Jeb Phillips contributed to this story.

mmarx@dispatch.com

Police ordered the driver's blood tested based on his erratic behavior and a witness who smelled alcohol.