Franklin man found guilty in fatal I-75 crash

A Frankling man accused of causing a fatal crash on Interstate 75 in 2015 has been found guilty, the Montgomery County Prosecutor said in a release Wednesday.

Thomas Eugene Leonard, 56, was charged with one county of aggravated vehicular homicide. On Aug. 26, 2015, was driving a pickup truck recklessly at a high rate of speed south on I‐75, just west of the West Carrollton exit. He went off the right side of the roadway and struck Mitchell Munoz’s vehicle, which was parked on the shoulder of the highway, the release said.

Munoz, 41, was pronounced dead at the scene. The Trenton resident had been sitting in his car, waiting for a tow truck because he had a flat tire. Prior to the accident, an Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper had stopped and checked on Munoz, making sure he was safely off the roadway with his hazard lights on, the release said.

Witness statements and an accident reconstruction estimated Leonard’s vehicle was traveling more than 100 mph at the time of the crash, according to the release. He is currently on the Electronic Home Detention Program, and will be sentenced on

Dec. 16. Leeonard faces up to five years in prison.

About the Author