Wheeling man charged with homicide by vehicle
A West Virginia man was charged Thursday with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol stemming from a crash that killed his son on Interstate 70 in North Franklin Township.
State police also charged Jonathan Brook Gracey, 52, of Wheeling, with involuntary manslaughter in the April 25 death of Robert James Gracey, 15, who was living at the time in Mt. Olivet, Ohio, court records and the victim’s obituary show.
The boy was ejected from the vehicle when it rear-ended a tractor-trailer that was stopped in westbound traffic in a construction zone about 11:15 p.m. near the Chestnut Street interchange.
Jonathan Gracey was taken to UPMC-Presbyterian hospital, Pittsburgh, where his blood-alcohol level registered at 0.151%, police stated in the affidavit.
He also faces charges of homicide by vehicle and driving under the influence of alcohol.
District Judge Robert Redlinger released him on $100,000 unsecured bond.