By Marie McCain
The Cincinnati Enquirer

OHIO TOWNSHIP - A New Richmond man was killed early Friday when the pickup truck he was driving was struck by a van whose driver might have been fleeing from a crime, authorities said.

Brian Piatt, 20, was taken to Mercy Hospital Anderson, where Pierce Township emergency workers pronounced him dead.

A second man, Donald Morgan Jr., was at University Hospital with serious injuries. He is thought to have been an occupant of the van that struck Piatt's pickup, officials said.

Shortly before 1 a.m., Piatt was southbound on Ohio 132 in Clermont County when he came to the intersection of Lindale-Mount Holly Road (Ohio 749).

According to preliminary findings by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the driver of a 1985 Ford Econoline van, heading west along Lindale-Mount Holly Road, failed to yield at a traffic light and struck Piatt's 2002 Ford Ranger.

The Ranger had heavy damage to its front end and driver's side, said Lt. Paul Hermes, commander of the Highway Patrol Batavia Post.

Piatt was not wearing a seat belt, Hermes said, and was ejected from the truck. The driver of the van fled on foot, as did another occupant, investigators said.

Officials think Morgan's half-brother; Christopher Morgan, was also inside the van. Christopher Morgan was arrested shortly after the crash. He was found on private property and has been charged with criminal trespass.

Clermont County Prosecutor Don White said the van occupants are suspects in a breaking and entering in Monroe Township shortly before the collision.

A construction vehicle parked in a private residence was broken into and about $8,000 in tools were stolen, White said. The owner of the residence awoke, heard the break-in and pursued the thieves in his vehicle, trying to get a license plate number. The van's Tennessee plates are registered to a woman thought to be Christopher Morgan's sister-in-law, officials said.

At some point the thieves noticed they were being followed and started tossing tools from the van, White said, adding that the man witnessed the crash.

An investigation is continuing, and no charges stemming from the crash have been filed against the Morgans, officials added.

Piatt's death brings the total number of traffic-related fatalities in Clermont County this year to 15.

E-mail mmccain@enquirer.com