An Ohio man has been connected to a fatal collision on a Kentucky highway, in which an 18-year-old college student lost her life, through a year-old jailhouse phone call. The man’s tire had fallen off his truck, leading to the tragic incident.
On June 21, the Boone County Sheriff’s Office revealed that Ricky A. Raider had been indicted by a grand jury for the tragic incident that resulted in the death of University of Kentucky student, Lauren Collins.
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Collins, a rising sophomore and fashion merchandising major, was driving southbound on the highway near the Ohio border when the loose tire collided with her automobile around 12:15 a.m. on July 16, 2023.
Raider was driving northward when his truck’s tire allegedly burst and rolled past the concrete barrier, striking Collins’ white 2012 Buick LaCrosse’s windshield.
First responders rescued Collins from her car and rushed her to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.
Collins, the only occupant in her car, died at the hospital.
Six days after the deadly incident, Raider, 37, reported himself to the Independence Police Department, stating “he lost a tire on the interstate over the past weekend but didn’t believe his tire had hit anyone.”
Months later, Sgt. Jeff Nagy of the department’s Accident Reconstruction Unit got a tape of Raider’s phone call to a female inmate at the Bullitt County Detention Center, located 108 miles southwest of the Independence Police Department.
Collins’s death occurred the night of the prison call.
During the call, Raider allegedly acknowledged traveling northbound in his 1993 Ford F-250 when a tire came off.
Raider told the female caller that he saw the tire collide with Collins’ car and “knew the collision likely resulted in someone being hurt or killed,” according to the sheriff’s office.
After witnessing the incident, Raider allegedly remounted the tire and left.
“What he did was steal lug nuts from other wheels to secure that tire just to get it up the road and off the interstate,” Major Philip Ridgell of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office told WXIX.
Charges against Raider included one count of leaving the scene of an accident or failing to provide aid resulting in death or serious bodily injury, a Class D felony, and one count of chronic felony offender first offense.
After witnessing the incident, Raider allegedly remounted the tire and left.
“What he did was steal lug nuts from other wheels to secure that tire just to get it up the road and off the interstate,” Major Philip Ridgell of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office told WXIX.
Charges against Raider included one count of leaving the scene of an accident or failing to provide aid resulting in death or serious bodily injury, a Class D felony, and one count of chronic felony offender first offense.
The Boone County Detention Center arrested him and is holding him on a $40,000 cash bond.
Raider appeared in court on Wednesday and requested that a public defender represent him. The publication has scheduled his return to court for July 24.
