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Charges Pending In Crash That Killed Student

Charges are still pending against an Ohio man following a crash that killed a Rochester Institute of Technology student from Falconer.

Clark County Prosecutor Dan Driscoll told The Post-Journal that his office is still waiting for laboratory results before he potentially takes the case to a grand jury. He said it could be another two to three weeks for the tests to come back.

Matthew W. Eskeli IV, 20, was killed July 2 in a crash on Interstate 70 in Clark County, Ohio, when his Ford Focus was struck at about 2:30 a.m. by a BMW being driven by 37-year-old Mark J. Terrell of South Charleston, Ohio.

The Falconer native was taken to an Ohio hospital where he later died.

A passenger in the Ford, 21-year-old Zach B. Cooper of Brockport, was transported to Springfield Regional Hospital before being airlifted to Miami Valley Hospital with “life-threatening injuries.”

His condition has since improved, Driscoll said.

Another passenger, 22-year-old Benjamin C. Cooper of Corning, was transported to the hospital for precautionary reasons.

Multiple media outlets reported that alcohol was believed to be a factor in the crash.

Terrell had been booked into jail but was later released.

“We’re still waiting for some lab results and the crash reconstruction report from the Ohio Highway Patrol,” said Driscoll, who noted that he was waiting for all the material before presenting the evidence to a Clark County grand jury.

Eskeli — a fourth-year mechanical engineering student in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering at RIT — was returning to New York with both passengers after competing in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb motorcycle competition in Colorado, the school said in a statement.

“On behalf of everyone at RIT, I want to extend my deepest sympathies to family and friends at this tragic time,” said Sandra Johnson, senior vice president of student affairs. “The sudden death of a member of our community takes an enormous emotional toll on all of us.”

Eskeli was valedictorian of the Falconer Central School Class of 2017.

Driscoll said he has remained in contact with Eskeli’s family following the crash.

“Obviously we always want to help any family bring closure,” Driscoll said.

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