The driver of a tractor-trailer has been charged with hiding a dashboard camera after a fatal crash in Madison County.
Bekhzod Asrarov, 42, of Maineville, rear-ended a Honda Accord on July 5 on Interstate 71 South in Madison County, the Ohio State Highway Patrol alleged in court records.
The initial crash happened at 1:37 a.m. between States Routes 56 and 38, according to court records. After hitting the Honda, Asrarov’s truck crossed the median and into the northbound lanes, causing a second crash involving other vehicles, the Highway Patrol alleged in court records.
Tobias Forsythe, 21, was driving the Honda. He died at the scene of the crash.
In court records, a Highway Patrol trooper alleged he seized multiple phones from Asrarov, whom medics were examining for neck and back pain. The trooper then went to the tractor-trailer in search of a dashboard camera, knowing commercial vehicles are often equipped with them.
The trooper found a dashboard camera mount in the truck’s cab with a cord hanging nearby, but the camera was missing, prosecutors alleged in court records.
With the help of a medic who used Google translate to communicate with Asrarov, who speaks only Uzbek, the trooper asked Asrarov where the camera was. Asrarov gestured to his pocket, prosecutors allege in court records, where another medic found the camera.
The trooper believed Asrarov concealed the camera to hide evidence. A total of three cell phones and an electronic logbook were also found at the crash site.
Prosecutors charged Asrarov with tampering with evidence, a third degree felony.
The crash remains under investigation. As of July 7, Asrarov remained at the Madison County jail.
Public Safety and Breaking News Reporter Bailey Gallion can be reached at bagallion@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Semi driver accused of hiding dashcam in fatal Madison County crash
Reporting by Bailey Gallion, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Bailey Gallion, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
