On December 5th, 2020, at approximately 5:54 pm Richard K Moon (70) of Portsmouth was struck by a Minivan traveling west on US 52, 12th Street, in the left lane. Moon entered the crosswalk, south bound, from the west Chillicothe Street sidewalk, crossing 12th Street. Moon had been consuming alcoholic beverages at an establishment prior. While the west bound light was green, Moon was struck by the van, in the roadway, in a construction zone. The driver failed to stop and report his information after the crash. Video of the incident was obtained and sent for testing. Moon would pass away on December 16th, 2020, at 3:25 pm due to injuries sustained in the crash.
After several follow-up reports of possible suspects, over a two-year period, a subject came forth for interview and a person of interest was named. The person of interest would confess to his involvement the evening of December 5th, 2020. Further investigation was completed and the Minivan, a 2004 Blue/Gray Ford Freestar was tracked and had been salvaged approximately a year after the crash by the van’s owner. On June 30th, 2023,
Rusty E Rule (41) of Portsmouth was Indicted by the Scioto County Grand Jury for the following charges: 3 cts of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, 1 ct of Vehicular Homicide, and 1 ct of Failure to Stop After an Accident. The Indictments were served to Rusty Rule on July 6, 2023 while he was in the Scioto County Jail on unrelated charges. Thanks go out for the cooperation of multiple agencies including The Ohio Investigative Unit, The Scioto County Sheriff’s Dept. Investigative Unit, Ohio BMV Investigations, Ohio Organized Crime Unit, and The Ohio Highway Patrol who all helped in the pursuit of the person responsible for the incident. Anyone who may have further information is asked to contact Sgt. Rob Davis of the Portsmouth Police Dept. 740-353-4101.
