Criminal charges filed against man accused of leaving scene of deadly crash on I-75 in Moraine

MORAINE — A Huber Heights man will face criminal charges connected to a crash that killed a 20-year-old Franklin woman last month.

Moraine police filed charges of tampering with evidence and leaving the scene of an accident against Nicholas Debello, 37 Thursday, according to online court records. Both charges filed against him are felony charges.

Debello remains in the Montgomery County Jail since his extradition to Ohio from Kentucky. Debello was located and arrested five days after the deadly crash but remained in a Kentucky jail until he was transferred to the Montgomery County Jail May 12.

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Debello is accused of driving a truck that killed Emily Ryan on I-75 near Dryden Road in Moraine April 21. Ryan’s vehicle had broken down in the right lane of southbound I-75 around midnight.

Police said Debello hit and killed Ryan, then continued on I-75 to the Dryden Road exit. Court documents filed Thursday revealed Debello drove to his father’s house and hid his truck in a trailer park for hours after the deadly crash. Security camera footage obtained by Moraine police found the truck and driver accused of hitting Ryan drove to the Aloha Trailer Park and hid from around 12:15 a.m. until just after 3 a.m., police said in the court documents, obtained by News Center 7.

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Police interviewed Debello’s father and he told officers his son Nicholas confessed to him he hit a car on the highway and left the scene. Officers then were able to track his location through his cell phone, leading to his arrest in La Grange, Kentucky, near Louisville. Debello’s truck and RV were found at a campsite in La Grange.