Inset: Tyler Dowler (Clark County Jail). Background: The area in Ohio where Dowler allegedly struck and killed a pedestrian (Google Maps).
A 39-year-old Ohio man is accused of drunkenly killing a pedestrian in a hit-and-run crash, then trying to claim a teenager was driving the vehicle, insisting he was merely a passenger.
Tyler S. Dowler was taken into custody last week and charged with one count each of aggravated vehicular manslaughter with alcohol and vehicular homicide in the death of Darryl Moore, court records show.
According to a probable cause affidavit, officers with the Springfield Police Division responded about 11 p.m. on Sept. 4 to Ridge Road near N. Limestone Street regarding a report of a man lying motionless in the road. The victim was taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center and later flown to Miami Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Surveillance footage allegedly showed the victim walking south on N. Limestone Street while pulling a wheeled trash can. He entered an unmarked crosswalk on Ridge Road as a light-colored Chevy Tahoe turned east from N. Limestone Street. The SUV struck him about halfway across the road, "knocked him to the pavement, dragged him several feet, and ran over him with both the front and rear wheels," according to the affidavit.
The SUV then sped away without stopping. Investigators recovered debris they said was consistent with a Chevrolet.
About 10 minutes later, the owner of the SUV reportedly contacted police and identified Dowler as the "possible driver" of the vehicle.
"[She] stated that she and Dowler had been together earlier that evening and that Dowler had consumed a significant amount of alcohol," the affidavit states. "She described him as highly intoxicated and stated he later left the Villa Road area in her Tahoe without her permission."
The Tahoe's owner had a friend call Dowler. He picked up and told the friend, "I can't talk right now, I just f—ed up," per the affidavit.
Just before 1 a.m., an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper located and stopped the Tahoe. A 15-year-old was driving, while Dowler sat in the front passenger seat, according to the affidavit.
Investigators later established that the teenager had been with his grandmother at the time of the crash. At some point after the crash, Dowler and the teen went back to the Tahoe and were then pulled over.
When questioned by police, Dowler allegedly admitted drinking in the Villa Road area but "denied recalling the Tahoe being involved in a crash." He repeatedly claimed he had only been in the front passenger seat, the affidavit said.
Investigators said that based on the surveillance, physical evidence, camera data, witness statements, Dowler's possession of the Tahoe without permission, his intoxication, the teenager's corroborated whereabouts, and Dowler's statements after the crash, they developed probable cause that Dowler had been driving when the Tahoe struck and killed the victim.
Dowler was booked into the Clark County Jail, where he is being held without bond, records show. It was not immediately clear when he was scheduled to appear in court.