BY LAURA GOLDBERG
The Cincinnati Enquirer
An 88-year-old Westwood man whose wife died last month after a car accident in which police say he ran a red light has been charged with vehicular homicide by Cincinnati police.
Charles Newman of Hull Avenue is scheduled to be arraigned in Hamilton County Municipal Court April 30 on the charge, a first-degree misdemeanor.
The accident occurred about 10:45 a.m. March 10. Police said Mr. Newman drove his Plymouth Voyager through a red light at the intersection of Boudinot and Montana avenues and was hit by a tractor-trailer rig.
The truck driver was not hurt. After the accident, Mr. Newman was reported in serious condition, while his wife, Wilma, 85, was in critical condition. She died at University Hospital two days later.
Neighbors said the two were married for nearly sixty years. One neighbor, William R. Glines Jr., said the charge should be dropped "for the sake of mercy, if nothing else."
"He's suffered enough," said Mr. Glines.
But Charlie Rubenstein, chief assistant Cincinnati prosecutor, said a charge is made simply on the basis of the law. The issue, he said, is whether someone's actions fit the standard of criminal negligence in operating the vehicle.
It's not unusual in such cases for the person who died in a car crash to be a relative or friend of the person charged, he said.
Mr. Newman faces up to 180 days in jail, although he could, instead, be put on probation. His license also could be revoked.
Mr. Newmancouldn't be reached for comment.
