COLUMBUS – Authorities in Mt. Vernon are investigation the sequence of events that ended with the death of a Newark man, who jumped from the 280-foot Rastin Observation Tower in Ariel- Foundation Park Wednesday.
Ricky Snyder Jr., 35, jumped from the structure at 8:40 a.m. after apparently stealing a truck and crashing it near the park on the city’s southwest side, Knox County Sheriff David Shaffer said.
The Mt. Vernon Police Department and Knox County Coroner’s Office are assisting in the investigation but there was no information available Wednesday about what led Snyder to jump from the tower.
The series of events began at approximately 8:20 a.m. when the sheriff’s office dispatch center received a report of a truck driving at a high rate of speed on W. Gambier Street in the area of Park Street in Mt. Vernon, Shaffer said.
At approximately the same time, the dispatch center was receiving information concerning a vehicle that was later found to be registered to Snyder abandoned on Sycamore Road, about four miles south of the city, and a truck that was stolen from the same location, Shaffer said.
The description of the stolen vehicle was similar to the one spotted on W. Gambier Street, Shaffer said.
A few minutes later, Shaffer said, reports were received that the driver was involved in an altercation with someone on W. Gambier Street and the truck was seen driving on W. High Street toward Harcourt Road.
At approximately 8:34am, Shaffer says officers received information that a truck had crashed on Pittsburgh Avenue and the driver fled on foot.
At approximately 8:40 a.m., a man later identified as Snyder was seen jumping from the tower, Shaffer said.