By Marci Piltz
Record-Courier staff writer
BRIMFIELD "The Ravenna Post of the Ohio Highway Patrol is investigating a crash Monday on Lynn Road that killed a 41-year-old Brimfield man.
Ronald O. Starks, of Lawndale Drive, was transported from the scene of the crash to Akron City Hospital by the Brimfield Fire Department. Starks was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later.
The crash, which occurred shortly before 2 p.m., involved a motorcycle driven by Starks and a pick-up truck. The driver of the truck, Jason C. Arana, 37, of Meloy Road in Brimfield, was not injured in the crash, nor was a toddler that was a passenger in his vehicle.
According to the patrol, the crash occurred in the 1800 block of Lynn Road, southeast of Sherman Road.
The patrol said a preliminary investigation shows Starks was traveling northwest on Lynn Road at what witnesses said was a "high rate of speed." Arana was traveling southeast on Lynn Road in the pick-up when he attempted to make a left turn into a residential driveway. As he turned, the patrol said, his truck collided head on with Starks' motorcycle.
Starks was ejected from the bike as it veered off the right side of the roadway and entered an area of thick overgrowth.
Brimfield fire officials, as well as Brimfield police, responded to the scene with the patrol.
The patrol said Starks was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. Also, the patrol said, Arana was wearing a seat belt and the toddler in his vehicle was properly buckled into a child safety seat.
The crash remains under investigation at this time and no charges have been filed.
This is the 10th fatal crash in Portage County in 2008 and the third traffic fatality this year involving a motorcycle.