Kelly C. Barr was widowed at the age of 28 last June by illegal alien

Kelly C. Barr was widowed at the age of 28 last June.

Her husband, John, 42, was struck head-on by a tractor-trailer on U.S. 250 in northern Tuscarawas County. John also left behind a 3-year-old daughter, Alison.

The man who caused the crash was an illegal immigrant who was driving without a license.

The Dover woman is on a crusade to close what she calls a loophole in Ohio law that would allow unlicensed drivers to be charged with felonies in cases such as her husband’s.

“It just breaks my heart. My daughter still talks about her dad every day,” she said. “It’s so life changing for us. If there’s anything I can do to not make (my husband’s death) in vain, I want to do that.”

Juan Usralios, the man charged in John Barr’s death, originally was charged with involuntary manslaughter, a third-degree felony, but that later was reduced to a misdemeanor.

Prosecutors indicated that Usralios could have been charged with a felony only if he had been driving drunk, recklessly or with a suspended license. Usralios did not have a license.

At Kelly’s urging, legislation was introduced last year by former State Rep. William Healy, D-Canton. Ohio House Bill expected to be reintroduced this term by Rep. Allan Sayre, D-Dover.

Attempts to reach Sayre for comment Monday were unsuccessful.

Under the proposed law, prosecutors could charge unlicensed drivers with a felony in such crashes.

“We consider it a loophole in the law,” said Kelly S. Barr, John’s cousin. “You could cause a fatality and never have a driver’s license and they don’t consider it negligence,” she said. “You have to have a suspended or revoked license to be charged with a felony.”

She added the driver was involved in another traffic accident 18 months before the fatal accident. Usralios was sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to make restitution.

“He was supposed to be deported and fell through the cracks,” she said.

Since John’s death, there have been two fatal crashes involving drivers believed to be illegal immigrants on U.S. 250 near the Tuscarawas-Stark County border.

Both drivers also were unlicensed drivers.

In the latest incident, Francisco Ceto-Rivera, 21, of 519 Front St. E., Dover, was westbound on U.S. 250 early Monday when he drove his 1997 Pontiac Grand Am off the road and struck a utility pole, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol. The 28-year-old victim has not been identified.

It has not been confirmed that Ceto-Rivera was in the United States illegally, but the Highway Patrol is investigating.

The accident occurred about 70 feet from the wreck that took the life of Moises Philipe Raymundo Gallego, 21, of Dover.

The driver, Marcello Sanchez, 22, of 120 High St. W., lost control in snowy conditions and struck an Ohio Department of Transportation snow plow, according to the Highway Patrol. Court records show Sanchez is employed by Gerber Poultry and may be an illegal alien subject to deportation.

In both cases, the drivers were charged with misdemeanor vehicular homicide.

“Route 250 is a big problem. They (illegal immigrants) are heading into Stark County, and I heard none of have them have their license,” Kelly C. Barr said.

But Lt. Eric Escola, of the Ohio Highway Patrol’s New Philadelphia Post, stopped short of saying accidents involving illegal immigrants are on the rise in northern Tuscarawas and southwestern Stark counties.

“It’s just kind of ironic that we’ve had these unfortunate circumstances where identity of drivers and occupants are unknown,” Escola said. “There’s been no more of an increase now than there has been in the past.”

Escola said there have been reports of hit and run accidents involving Hispanic and Latino drivers, but “I would not say it’s greater than it was in the past.”

According to Escola, the Highway Patrol offers diversity training to the public to emphasize the importance of driver training.

“We like to go out and talk to different groups and try to get the message out,” he said.