3 years later, Portsmouth man indicted in fatal hit-and-run crash

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (WCMH) -- A Portsmouth man who admitted to fatally hitting a 70-year-old with his minivan -- then leaving the scene -- was indicted by a Scioto County grand jury last week.

Rusty Rule, 41, was indicted on several counts of vehicular homicide on Friday, June 30 after confessing to crashing his 2004 Ford minivan into a pedestrian near the area of U.S. Route 52 and 12th Street in Portsmouth on Dec. 15, 2020, according to a news release from the Portsmouth Police Department. After striking the victim -- Richard Moon, of Portsmouth -- police said Rule drove away, neglecting to stop and report his information.

Moon died from his injuries about 10 days later, on Dec. 16, 2020.

On the day of the crash, police said Rule was driving westbound on U.S. 52 near 12th Street around 6 p.m. when he hit Moon, who had entered the crosswalk from the west side of a Chillicothe Street sidewalk.

Rule reportedly confessed to the crime about two years after the incident, police said. After admitting his guilt, police said investigators tracked down the 2004 Ford minivan, which had been salvaged a year after the crash.

The grand jury indicted him on three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, one count of vehicular homicide and one count of failing to stop after an accident, according to police.