Charges Announced In Deadly Car Crash In Cleveland Heights

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — Thomas Hawkins has been accused of killing a 65-year-old man during a drunken driving car crash in Cleveland Heights, police told Patch this week. Hawkins faces charges of aggravated vehicular homicide and operating a vehicle impaired, along with other traffic violations.

Cleveland Heights Police Chief Annette Mecklenburg told Patch of the charges against Hawkins this week. The deadly crash happened at the intersection of Mayfield and Taylor roads last week.

On August 15, Eugene Rankin, 65, was killed when a black pickup truck ran a red light and smashed into his sedan, police records said. When police arrived at the intersection, firefighters were trying to extract Rankin from his car. He would later be loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital. He was then pronounced dead.

Hawkins was the driver of the pickup truck, police said. After the crash, he reportedly tried to run from the scene but was stopped by two witnesses who held him until police arrived, police records indicated.

While talking with police, Hawkins said he'd been drinking whiskey and had been in an argument with his wife in Solon, police records said. According to one police officer's account, he repeatedly asked police to kill him. He told officers he wanted to commit suicide, police records said.

Hawkins allowed police to test his blood after he had been taken to a hospital, police records said.