18-year-old driver arrested after passenger killed in crash in West Price Hill

CINCINNATI (WXIX) — An 18-year-old man has been arrested in a fatal crash that killed his passenger in West Price Hill last week, court records show.

Abeldardo Mendez lost control of a 2016 Chevrolet Equinox while traveling “at a very high rate of speed” on West 8th Street and the SUV struck a parked dump truck.

As a result, the passenger had to be extricated from the vehicle by the Cincinnati Fire Department and was pronounced dead at the scene, police wrote in an affidavit.

Impairment and excessive speed were being investigated as causes of the accident, police said at the time of the accident.

“The collision was captured by a surveillance camera near a home, which (showed Mendez) was traveling at a high rate of speed when he collided with the parked vehicle. “In addition, he did not have a valid driver's license at the time of the collision.”

Mendez was seriously injured and taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

He was booked into the Hamilton County Jail on a charge of aggravated vehicular manslaughter around 3:47 p.m. Sunday.

Mendez was held without bail and will make his first court appearance Monday.

The Hamilton County Coroner's Office is still working to identify the passenger, who was pronounced dead at the scene, police wrote in court records.

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