By Colin McEwen
Record-Courier staff writer
DEERFIELD — A broken heap of stone and concrete rubble is all that is left of a Civil War monument in the middle of Deerfield Circle.
Just before 2:30 a.m. Saturday, the driver of a pick-up truck went through a stop sign while traveling eastbound on U.S. 224, then drove over the curb at Deerfield Circle and traveled an additional 40 feet before smashing into the historical marker, leaving it in ruins.
Lt. Michael Marucci of the Ravenna Post of the Ohio Highway Patrol said Ross Caldwell, 18, of Atwater, was the only occupant of the vehicle when troopers arrived.
“(Caldwell) is saying he doesn’t recall what happened and that a friend left the scene on foot,” said Marucci, adding that charges have not been filed.
Marucci said alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash.
The monument, erected in 2002 at a cost of more than $65,000, was a replica of the original that stood in the same location for more than 100 years. The original monument was in poor condition after it had been struck several times by vehicles, and is now on display at the Portage County Museum.
This is the second Civil War monument in Portage County destroyed this month. A Civil War memorial in Atwater was destroyed March 5 when a vehicle crashed into it.
Deerfield Township Trustee Ed Dean said trustees will meet tonight to discuss the monument.
“Deerfield has a lot of history with its Civil War involvement,” he said.
After the obelisk was erected in 2002, a perimeter fence was placed around it for protection.
The fence was no match for the pick-up truck early Saturday morning.
The memorial, once towering more than 15 feet, is now broken into several large chunks. Yellow police tape ropes off the mounds of rubble.
“We’ve already received a lot of calls from the community,” Dean said. “People are pretty upset about it. This is something we’ll be talking about for the next few months until we get this resolved.”
In 1998, the gazebo in the Deerfield Circle was destroyed when a truck drove into it, after its driver suffered a fatal heart attack.
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E-mail: cmcewen@recordpub.com
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