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A 23-year-old Ohio teacher was killed in a car crash allegedly caused by a driver who had previously been deported from the United States, authorities said.
The victim, Cameron Lyon, died after a two-vehicle crash in Fairfield County on September 6, according to relatives, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and school district officials.
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Alvaro Uribe-Gonzalez, a 33-year-old Mexican national, has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, driving under the influence, and operating a vehicle without a valid license in connection with the crash, according to authorities.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol told Fox News that the crash occurred at about 6:15 p.m. on U.S. Route 33 near U.S. Route 22 in Hocking Township. Troopers said a GMC Terrain traveling eastbound went off the roadway, overcorrected, crossed into the westbound lanes, and overturned, striking the Chevrolet Trax driven by Lyon. Authorities said the GMC caught fire after the collision.
Newsweek has contacted the Ohio State Highway Patrol for comment via email and is awaiting comment.
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Who Was Cameron Lyon?
Lyon taught social studies to fifth- and sixth-grade students at Crestline Exempted Village Schools, where he started working just weeks earlier, his distraught father told Newsweek during an interview early Thursday.
"We are not doing well," Ben Lyon told Newsweek. "It was a tragic loss."
Lyon, 55, said his son had gotten engaged to Abrielle Kerns, also 23, in July while in Rhode Island. The pair intended to build a life together in Caledonia.
"He had been stressing about getting a job because of the current teaching situation in Ohio," Lyon said, adding that Cameron later learned he got the position while vacationing in Rhode Island with his new fiancée.
Lyon said he’s having difficulty processing the sudden loss of his eldest son, a “kind, caring and happy person” who adored Kerns and working with children.
"Honestly, it feels not real," Lyon said. "It feels like Cameron could walk through the door any minute. We had to plan his funeral yesterday; it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do as a parent."
Memorial services for Lyon have yet to be finalized and will be held once Kerns, who has been discharged from intensive care, has been released from a hospital. Lyon will be cremated, his father said.
"It’s absolutely just devastated our family," Lyon said, who characterized the circumstances surrounding Cameron’s death as secondary while calling for accountability.
"Obviously we want justice for our kids," Lyon said. "It was unnecessary, regardless of who or where they were from. The fact that he was taken by a drunk driver, that’s what hurts the most. We are focused on the loss of our son and Abrielle’s loss of her future husband. She’s just absolutely devastated."
Lyon said he and his wife, Andrea, had planned to meet their son and Kerns for dinner on Sunday when authorities informed them about the crash.
"Abrielle was his life, Cameron was Arbrielle’s life," Lyon said. "His students were his priority, his family, his brother; He thought more about other people than he thought about himself. We want him to be remembered as the beautiful person that he was."
Crestline Exempted Village Schools announced Lyon's death in a statement shared with the school community.
"It is with profound sadness that we share that one of our 5th/6th grade teachers, Mr. Cameron Lyon, tragically passed away following a car accident," the school wrote in a post on Facebook.
"Our hearts are broken for his family, his fiancee, his students, his colleagues and all those whose lives he touched," the district said.
School officials said counselors would be available to support students and staff as they mourned.
Lyon was a recent graduate of Otterbein University who became engaged this summer and had recently begun his teaching career, according to an online fundraiser.
"We are devastated by this needless tragedy and miss him dearly," the family wrote.
Lyon was transported to Fairfield Medical Center, where he died a short time later, according to the patrol. Kerns, a passenger in his vehicle, was hospitalized with injuries, the Daily Wire reported.
In a Facebook post, Emily Van Voorhis Kerns, who identified herself as a relative of Abrielle Kerns, said Kerns remained hospitalized with extensive injuries following the crash. She described Kerns' fiance, Lyon, as "a great person" who was already part of the family and said relatives were planning additional fundraising efforts to support his loved ones.
"Sadly Cam did not make it and Abrielle has had extensive injuries," Kerns wrote on Facebook. "She is still in the hospital recovering."
Who Is Uribe-Gonzalez?
The Department of Homeland Security said Uribe-Gonzalez entered the United States through Texas in January 2020 and was later issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge. The agency said he was deported in April 2020 but subsequently reentered the country at an unknown date and location. Following his recent arrest, ICE lodged a detainer with the Fairfield County Jail, requesting notification before any potential release from custody.
"Cameron had his whole life ahead of him, and that life was stolen by this criminal who never should have been in our country in the first place," DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a press release on Wednesday.
A Fairfield County judge initially set Uribe-Gonzalez's bond at $5 million, but prosecutors later moved to have him held without bond. Kyle Witt, the Fairfield County prosecutor, told WBNS 10TV that the request was based on the seriousness of the allegations, public safety concerns, and what he described as the defendant's lack of local ties. The charges remain pending as authorities continue to investigate the crash.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick and James Debens
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