BOWLING GREEN – A Napoleon man who in April caused a multi-vehicle crash that killed two people and injured two others on I-75, near Cygnet, Ohio, has been sentenced to 25 to 29 years in prison, Wood County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Dobson said.
Nicholas Luderman, 25, of Napoleon, had been indicted on two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, four counts of aggravated vehicular assault and tampering with evidence, and added counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular assault. The first set of charges alleged that Mr. Luderman caused the accident as a result of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or other drugs; the second alleged that he caused the crash by driving recklessly.
On Aug. 19, Mr. Luderman pleaded guilty to all of those charges. The prosecution agreed to dismiss one count of failure to stop after an injury accident.
According to Ohio State Highway Patrol, Mr. Luderman was driving a car south on I-75, north of Cygnet Road in Wood County’s Henry Township around 9:54 p.m. April 3, when the vehicle struck the back of a Dodge Dakota driven by Andrew Jones, 19, of Findlay, causing Mr. Jones’ car to cross the median and crash into northbound traffic.
The car that Mr. Jones was driving and one of the cars he hit, a Jeep driven by Kassidi Krzykwa, 23, of Kalamazoo, Mich., burst into flames and both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene. Two passengers in the Jeep, Anthony Rastigue and Leti Rastigue, were flown from the scene with life-threatening injuries.
Four occupants of a fourth vehicle involved in the crash, John Hisey of Canton, Mich., who was driving his wife and two minor children in a Ford Flex, were transported to Wood County Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Of the 25 years imposed by Wood County Common Pleas Judge Joel Kuhlman on Thursday, 21 years are mandatory. Under Ohio law, the sentence could be extended to 29 years based on the conduct in prison.
First Published October 13, 2022, 8:46 p.m.
