Driver who caused fatal crash on Route 8 in Akron pleads guilty to vehicular manslaughter

Arraignment for driver charged in Akron Route 8 fiery crash which killed 18-year-old
By Julia Bingel | February 23, 2021 at 9:40 AM EST - Updated February 23 at 12:13 PM

AKRON, Ohio (WOIO) - The driver who caused a fatal fiery crash on Route 8 in August of 2020 pleaded guilty in Akron Municipal Court.

Christopher Lonkart pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter for the Aug. 25, 2020 accident.

The crash happened around 7:45 a.m. on Route 8 northbound between Tallmadge and Cuyahoga Falls avenues.

According to officers, a tractor-trailer was traveling northbound on State Route 8, just south of the Cuyahoga Falls exit, when the truck had a tire blow-out.

As a result, tire debris was all over the highway.

Fire after an incident involving a car and a tanker on Route 8 in Akron.
Fire after an incident involving a car and a tanker on Route 8 in Akron. (Source: Tara Marie)

Lonkart was driving a Honda, when he broke hard, swerved left and right to avoid the debris and struck Jared Marcum’s vehicle.

The impact pushed Marcum’s vehicle into a gasoline tanker truck, which caught fire.

Marcum, 18, of North Canton, was trapped inside his car and killed.

Lonkart will be sentenced on March 9.

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