Driver in fatal hit-skip wreck pleads guilty to charges; victim's wife offers forgiveness

ZANESVILLE − Colt C. Lightfoot, 45, of Zanesville pleaded guilty to a prosecutor’s bill of information Tuesday in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court, including aggravated vehicular homicide, a first-degree felony; grand theft of a motor vehicle; grand theft; burglary; receiving stolen property; and breaking and entering, according to a news release from Muskingum County Prosecutor Ron Welch.

After Judge Mark C. Fleegle read a statement from the victim’s wife forgiving Lightfoot and asking him to turn his life around, Fleegle sentenced Lightfoot to at least 15 years in prison and a lifetime driver’s license suspension, according to the release.

On May 13, Lightfoot was driving a stolen vehicle on U.S. 40, and hit a motorcyclist, Zanesville resident Gary Frey, 71, after failing to yield to traffic when attempting to make a left turn, according to reports and the news release. After hitting Frey and leaving him on the highway, Lightfoot sped away from the scene of the accident.

Frey was a schoolteacher for more than 40 years, the release said, and was treated by emergency medical first responders but died from his injuries at the hospital.

Law enforcement investigators obtained video footage of the incident from a nearby business, said the release, and debris from the vehicle Lightfoot was driving was located.

Law enforcement located and searched the stolen vehicle thanks to tips from the public. Investigators interviewed the owner of the property where the vehicle was found, and he claimed that Lightfoot usually drove it. It was later determined to be stolen, according to the release.

The victim’s wife offered forgiveness in court Tuesday via a letter addressing the court, but she asked that Lightfoot change his life.

“My husband, Gary Frey, lived his life in service to others. ...,” she said in her letter. “He was always willing to help anyone who needed him without question. Gary was a man of love and compassion. I know without a doubt that he would forgive you for what you have done, and I forgive you also.

“But there is one thing that I hope can happen as a result of this terrible tragedy: you, Colton Lightfoot, turn your life around. Make choices that bring no harm to another person including yourself. If you can do that, you will be one more person that Gary can help in this world.”

Muskingum County Prosecuting Attorney Ron Welch offered condolences to the family of the victim and credited law enforcement investigators for quickly bringing Lightfoot to justice.

“Colt Lightfoot was quickly brought to justice due to the phenomenal effort of local law enforcement,” Prosecutor Welch said in the release. “This defendant had several cases being investigated by multiple law enforcement agencies. The Muskingum County Sheriff's Office, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Zanesville Police Department, and the South Zanesville Police Department worked together with our office to develop a plan of investigation resulting in these cases being solved and the defendant being sentenced to 15 years in prison.”

This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Driver in fatal hit-skip wreck pleads guilty to multiple charges