‘Whole world shattered': Local mom speaks after son killed in OVI crash; former Buckeye charged

Yahoo

28-06-2025

CLEVELAND (WJW) – Former Ohio State All American Kirk Barton is facing charges that he allegedly caused a deadly car crash while under the influence.
The victim of the crash, 24-year-old Ethan Perry, has deep ties to the Greater Cleveland Area. His mother said she will not allow her son to become a forgotten footnote in the high-profile case.
'There will be a hole in my heart that will never close, it will never close,' Roslyn Perry told FOX 8.
She said she was notified by police early Saturday morning that her son had been killed in a terrible accident in Dublin, Ohio, outside Columbus.
'At that point, my whole world shattered because my only baby was gone,' she said.
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Investigators said Ethan Perry's car was slammed into by a speeding pickup truck driven by the 40-year-old Barton, who is a 2003 graduate of Massillon Perry High School and a four-year letterman for Ohio State between 2003 and 2007.
Police said Barton admitted to officers that he had been drinking before the crash and he was arrested on a charge of aggravated vehicular homicide.
On Monday, Barton pleaded not guilty to the charge in Franklin County Municipal Court.
'I saw his mugshot and all he had was a black eye. He had a black eye, but my baby was dead,' said Roslyn Perry.
The death of Ethan Perry stunned his family in the Greater Cleveland Area, where he spent his formative years.
The family is upset about coverage of the deadly accident that focused on Barton's football career at Ohio State nearly 20 years ago.
'You hear them say, 'Ethan West Perry died at the scene. Barton was a football standout at Ohio State.' Who cares? That is not relevant, he killed my child,' Roslyn Perry said.
She said she finds it disturbing that Barton has a history of run-ins with the law, including prior OVI arrests and a high-profile episode that investigators said was fueled by alcohol.
It was in June 2018 when Barton was arrested after he refused to comply with sheriff's deputies, who responded to complaints about his behavior at a suburban Columbus bar.
He was shown on body camera video slamming the sliding door of a taxi van on the arm of one of the deputies.
Barton was initially charged with felonious assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. Roslyn Perry questions how the 2018 case was disposed of without any severe consequences.
'I worked at Ohio State for almost five years, so I've seen it first-hand. It is privilege plain and simple,' she said.
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Ethan Perry's mother believes that privilege is continuing. Barton was released from jail after posting 10% of a $500,000 bond set by a judge on Monday.
'If this situation was turned around and Ethan killed this man, my son would still be sitting in jail today,' she said.
As a condition of his bond, Barton is not allowed to drive and must wear an alcohol monitoring device.
Meanwhile, funeral services for Ethan Perry will be held in Cleveland next week.
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