Claridon Township, OH — May 7, 2025, Jeff Hazen was killed and Katherine Taddeo was injured in a truck accident at about 8:30 a.m. on State Route 608.
Authorities said a 2016 Hyundai Elantra was headed west on Chardon-Windsor Road when it was hit by a northbound 1995 International Scout dump truck on Route 608. The impact knocked the Hyundai into a tree, while the dump truck ended up in a ditch.
Dump truck driver Jeff Hazen, 67, of Chardon died at the scene of the crash, while Hyundai driver Katherine Taddeo, 66, of Rome was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the Geauga County crash. The accident is still being investigated.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When a commercial vehicle and a passenger car collide at a rural intersection like this one, the investigation has to answer two questions right away: Who had the right of way, and did either driver fail to yield it? While that may sound straightforward, these cases often require a deep dive into physical evidence and driver behavior to sort out.
For example, one of the most important factors in determining fault is the position of the vehicles before the collision. Were both drivers proceeding through the intersection legally and safely? If one driver ran a stop sign or made a turn without properly judging the distance and speed of oncoming traffic, that’s obviously significant. But in a crash this severe, those answers don’t typically come from eyewitness accounts alone> They come from examining skid marks, damage angles and engine control module data from the commercial vehicle.
It’s also worth asking whether either vehicle had mechanical issues, especially given the age of the dump truck. A 1995 model has likely been through decades of wear and tear, and if poor maintenance played a role, that could shift liability away from the drivers and toward whoever was responsible for the truck’s upkeep.
At the end of the day, we can’t draw conclusions until investigators look beyond the scene and gather all the evidence, especially data and documentation that sheds light on how both vehicles were being operated and maintained. Without that, it’s impossible to say who is legally responsible for this crash.
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