MECHANICSBURG – At 6:40 p.m. on Thursday, a serious crash occurred on SR-4, leaving one driver dead. A pick-up truck was driving north on SR-4 when it lost control going over railroad tracks and struck a car in a gas station parking lot. The driver of the car in the parking lot died at the scene. The man who died, Charles Roger Rutan Jr, a 59 year-old man from Mechanicsburg, was backing out of a parking space at “Winners 1 Stop” when his car was struck.

The driver of the pick-up truck, Jeffrey Russell Burnette, a 57 year-old man from Huber Heights was not injured in the crash. Burnette was found to be under the influence of alcohol. He was charged with operating a vehicle impaired and aggravated vehicular homicide. He was booked into the Tri-County Jail.

Another parked vehicle and the awning of the gas station were also damaged in the crash.