BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWPORT -- The stolen car that flew off a bridge Friday was moving at 90 mph or faster, an investigator has determined.
"That's what we think happened; he was just going too fast," Newport police Detective Anthony Piccirillo said Monday.
The driver, a 17-year-old who has not been publicly identified, remained in critical condition Monday at University Hospital. His passenger, Ronnie Griffith, 19, of Latonia, was killed when the car crossed into the opposite, westbound lane of the Shortway Bridge, jumped a metal guardrail and broke through a wooden fence. The car plunged at least 25 feet to an alley below, bounced and smashed into a tool shed.
The joy ride in the 1993 Dodge Intrepid started in Latonia, in the 300 block of East 43rd Street, Detective Piccirillo said. Mr. Griffith and the driver were at a house there, as was the Intrepid's owner.
The owner and alleged thieves were not friends, but were connected through a mutual friend, the detective said.
The car was reported missing to Covington police at 5 a.m. Friday. The crash happened eight minutes later.
The investigator said he had not yet determined if alcohol was a factor.
Accident victims, including teen-agers, usually are named. But in this case, the driver has not been identified because he could face criminal charges.
Because of the teen-ager's condition, Detective Piccirillo had been unable to speak with him about what happened.
