The 50-year-old Columbus man charged with three counts of aggravated vehicular manslaughter in a fatal Delaware County crash owned his own trucking company, for which he was the only driver.
He had no significant criminal record and while he was involved in a tractor-trailer crash a year ago, he was not cited for that incident. However, in addition to the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio’s motor carrier division is also now investigating last week’s crash.
On April 11, Modou F. Ngom’s 2006 Freightliner tractor-trailer failed to stop while approaching a traffic backup in a construction zone in the northbound lanes of Interstate 71 near the U.S. 36 and State Route 37 interchange.
Lynnea Soposki, 36 a veterinarian at Muirfield Animal Hospital in Dublin; her husband Luke Soposki, 37; and their 1-year-old baby, Logan, died in the crash, according to the animal hospital.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said three other people were also injured in the nine-vehicle crash, which occurred at 6:27 p.m. and shut down traffic in both directions on I-71 for several hours.
Here’s a look at what public records tell us about Ngom:
Driver in the fatal Delaware County crash appears to have no significant criminal record
A spokesperson for the Delaware County Prosecutor said Ngom does not appear to have any criminal history beyond misdemeanor traffic citations. In two prior incidents, Ngom was cited while driving the same 2006 Freightliner tractor-trailer involved in the April 11 crash.
On May 31, 2024, Ngom was ticketed by the Ohio State Highway Patrol in Delaware County for driving an unsafe vehicle. He pleaded no contest to the ticket and paid it.
According to a crash report, the tractor-trailer lost its drive shaft, which struck the undercarriage of a car behind it. The driver of that car was not hurt.
The crash report states that Ngom was “operating defective equipment” and the crash was caused by “cargo or equipment loss or shift.”
Ngom was also involved in a crash while driving a tractor-trailer in April 2025, but the crash appeared to be weather-related and he was not cited.
On April 29, 2025, Ngom was driving a tractor trailer on State Route 814 in Union Township, Champaign County. The trailer was empty, and high winds caused the tractor-trailer to roll on its side, according to a crash report.
Severe storms were reported in the area that day.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash. Ngom had an insurance policy for the tractor-trailer, and he was listed as its owner.
Defendant owns carrier company and appears to be the sole driver
Ngom is the owner of M F W carrier, an interstate carrying company that lists Ngom’s Columbus apartment as its address, according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) records.
The company listed one driver, one tractor and one trailer. It transports general freight, beverages and paper products, according to the records. In 2025, the company reported driving 28,186 miles.
In the past two years, the company has reported one crash to the FMCSA: the wind-related April 2025 crash.
PUCO Motor Carrier Enforcement now investigating fatal crash
Matt Schilling, a spokesperson of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, told The Dispatch April 14 that PUCO’s Motor Carrier Enforcement Transportation Department has launched an investigation to the the fiery, deadly crash April 11, but declined to provide further details.
PUCO’s Motor Carrier Enforcement Transportation Department is responsible for regulating commercial transport services, according to its website. This includes interstate and intrastate motor carriers, railroads, moving companies, and towing, the website states.
Senator raises immigration issues
Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno said in a post on X that Ngom was a Somalian who became a U.S. citizen 10 years ago.
The Dispatch has been unable to confirm this independently.
A spokesperson for the Delaware County Prosecutor said she was unable to confirm or deny Moreno’s claim. She said Ngom appears to be a U.S. citizen, but did not have any information beyond that.
In court records requesting bond for Ngom, the Delaware County Prosecutor did not include any information about Ngom’s “jurisdictional residence,” or where he legally resides. Publicly available court records do not say whether Ngom is an immigrant.
The Delaware County Sheriff’s office said no immigration holds had been placed on Ngom, who remained in their custody at the county jail on April 14 on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide.
Moreno’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how he knew the driver’s immigration status.
Modou Ngom made no effort to brake before crash, records say
According to records from Delaware County Common Pleas Court, a witness to the crash estimated Ngom was traveling about 70 mph when he struck the car in front of him.
“The defendant slammed into the rear of a stopped vehicle causing a chain-reaction crash. Video from a nearby ODOT camera shows the defendant made no effort to brake or take evasive action before the crash,” a prosecutor’s request for a high bond states.
That ODOT video shows Ngom’s Freightliner tractor-trailer hitting the car in front of it and then going toward the center median across multiple lanes of traffic. Either the tractor-trailer or another vehicle caught fire.
Magistrate Cory Goe set Ngom’s bond at $500,000 during an April 13 hearing. If Ngom posts bond, he will be required to surrender any passport he has and be confined to house arrest while wearing a GPS monitor.
Ngom remains in the Delaware County jail. His next court date is scheduled for April 21 but a grand jury could indict him before that date.
Ngom not well-known at apartment complex, worked a lot
Neighbors of Ngom who spoke with The Dispatch April 14 at his home at the James Road Apartments on Columbus’ East Side said that they didn’t know him too well and that he just seemed to work often.
Mary Kiggins, the building’s property manager, said Ngom had been living there since 2022. She said that he was friendly, but otherwise didn’t know him that well. She said she saw the crash reported by the news media, but didn’t realize that Ngom had anything to do with it.
“He was a pretty good tenant,” said Kiggins. “It seemed like he just worked all the time.”
Dispatch report Shahid Meighan contributed to this report.
Public Safety and Breaking News Reporter Bailey Gallion can be reached at bagallion@dispatch.com. Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Who is Modou Ngom, driver charged in fatal I-71 crash? What records reveal
Reporting by Bailey Gallion and Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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