Woman secretly indicted

• Charge of aggravated vehicular homicide in St. Clairsville fatality

By ERIC AYRES, T-L News Editor
ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The driver of a car that police said struck and killed a 23-year-old St. Clairsville woman last month was indicted on a charge of aggravated vehicular homicide.

A Belmont County grand jury returned the secret indictment Wednesday against Amanda Hudock, 22, of 71745 Fairpoint-New Athens Road. Police said Hudock was the driver of the vehicle that struck Mary E. Carroll outside a Newell Avenue residence near the North Butler Street intersection in the early morning hours of April 17.

St. Clairsville police responded to the scene just before 2 a.m. that day after receiving a 911 call about the incident. Upon arrival, officers found Carroll lying in the roadway unresponsive.

Carroll, of 133-A Orchard Drive in St. Clairsville, a graduate of St. Clairsville High School and an employee of River City in Wheeling, was transported by emergency crews from the Cumberland Trail Fire District to EMSTAR at Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling, where she was pronounced dead.

Police said the driver had left the scene prior to their arrival that night, but witnesses advised officers who the driver of the car was. Officials said they located the driver outside the city of St. Clairsville, interviewed her and impounded the vehicle, which was subsequently examined by representatives of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.

Hudock was not arrested, and police did not release her name to the public until the grand jury indictment was returned this week.

“All of the evidence from the St. Clairsville Police Department’s investigation into this tragedy was presented to the grand jury,” Belmont County Prosecutor Chris Berhalter said Thursday. “After reviewing this evidence, the grand jury returned an indictment of aggravated vehicular homicide.”

If convicted on the third-degree felony charge, Hudock faces a maximum penalty of five years in a state reformatory for women and a permanent suspension of her driver’s license.

Police have refused to reveal specific details about the incident that led to Carroll’s death. Both Hudock and Carroll were reportedly acquaintances who were out that night with a group of friends who had visited the Gazette Grill, where Carroll had once worked, on Main Street in St. Clairsville before heading to the Newell Avenue residence.

“It’s still an ongoing investigation,” said Berhalter.

St. Clairsville Police Chief Martin Kendzora said Hudock was served with a copy of the indictment Thursday and a summons to appear in court. However, she still reportedly has not been arrested or booked on the charge. She, along with other defendants indicted by the May session of the grand jury, is expected to appear in Belmont County Common Pleas Court on Thursday morning for arraignment.

Ayres can be reached at eayres@timesleaderonline.com