A 25-year-old Columbus bicyclist was killed Thursday evening on Kenny Road when a Porsche Cayenne struck him from behind, and Columbus police accident investigators suspect the driver was under the influence of alcohol, according to a Columbus Division of Police crash report reported by The Columbus Dispatch. Dion Watts, 25, of Columbus’ Northeast Side, was pronounced dead at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center at 7:37 p.m. on Nov. 5, less than an hour after the crash, police said in the report cited by the Dispatch.
Just before 6:40 p.m. on Nov. 5, Watts was riding his bicycle southbound in the dark on Kenny Road, just north of Preston Avenue near Ohio State University, according to the crash report. A 2021 Porsche Cayenne driven by Daniel Lhota, 59, of Upper Arlington, was also traveling southbound on Kenny Road when it struck Watts, police said.
A witness told investigators that the Porsche struck Watts from behind and carried him on the hood for a few feet before coming to a stop, according to the crash report reported by The Columbus Dispatch. A second witness told detectives she saw Lhota traveling "at a high rate of speed," the Dispatch reported from the crash report; she said she could not estimate the speed, heard a loud thud and saw the driver brake.
Columbus Division of Fire medics took Watts to Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 7:37 p.m., police said. The crash happened in the first week after daylight saving time ended on Nov. 1, when evening travel across Columbus shifts abruptly into darkness — a timing detail investigators routinely weigh, though police have not cited darkness as a cause.
Investigators suspect Lhota was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash, according to the crash report. A warrant was obtained for a blood draw, and the report states Lhota was "physically impaired," The Columbus Dispatch reported. Officers drove Lhota home after the crash, according to the report.
As of the evening of Nov. 6, no criminal charges had been filed against Lhota in Franklin County Municipal Court, according to The Columbus Dispatch’s check of court records. Lhota is an executive at Vision Companies, a Columbus real-estate development firm, according to his LinkedIn profile as reported by the Dispatch; the company’s website describes him as its chief operating officer.
Ohio law gives bicyclists a defined margin on roads like Kenny Road. Under Ohio Revised Code 4511.27, amended by House Bill 154 effective March 21, 2017, a motorist overtaking and passing a bicycle must leave three feet or more, which the statute treats as the safe passing distance. Police have not announced any finding about passing distance in this case — the crash report describes a rear-end strike, and no charges of any kind had been filed as of Friday evening.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on. We know, from the Columbus police crash report as reported by The Columbus Dispatch: the identities and ages of both men, the time and place of the crash, the southbound direction of both the bicycle and the Porsche, the witness accounts in the report, the hospital transport and time of death, and the investigators’ suspicion of alcohol impairment with a blood-draw warrant. We are still waiting on: the blood-draw results, any official speed determination, whether the bicycle had lights or reflectors, any statement from the driver, and any charging decision — none of those had been reported as of Friday evening, and this article will be updated if they are confirmed.
Fatal-crash cases in Columbus follow a set path from here. The police Accident Investigation Unit’s review continues, blood results come back to investigators, and the file is then available for prosecutors to review for possible charges, which in an impairment case can range from operating a vehicle under the influence to more serious offenses if the evidence supports them. That process is conditional and takes time; nothing in the crash report, as reported, predicts its outcome.
For now, the record is a police report, a young rider dead within the hour, and a driver sent home while investigators wait on lab results. The next concrete step is the Franklin County Municipal Court docket: if charges are filed against Lhota, they will appear there, and NewsForce247 will append a labeled update to this article rather than start a new one.
Photo: Sascha Kohlmann, CC BY-SA