<body><div>ST. LOUIS — Legal counsel representing the family of Riverfront Times founder Ray Hartmann maintains that the highway collision that killed him in April was completely preventable.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1cdgbq_1GvOfTL900" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1cdgbq_1GvOfTL900" width="600" height="338" ></figure>According to Missouri State Highway Patrol accident reconstruction records reviewed by FOX 2 News, Hartmann died on April 23 along Interstate 64, just west of Interstate 270, after a wheel detached from a traveling semi-truck and struck his vehicle.Edwardsville attorney Troy Walton, who was retained by Hartmann’s family to investigate the fatal crash, stated that tandem wheel assemblies do not detach without severe mechanical failure.“An 800-pound tandem wheel does not just come off of a tractor trailer or it certainly shouldn’t,” Walton said. “That is an absolutely avoidable event and it is catastrophically dangerous and in this instance it was fatal.”Missouri State Highway Patrol inspectors identified five mechanical infractions during their assessment of the tractor-trailer. The official reconstruction report explicitly stated that the entire wheel assembly detached from axle four, triggering the collision.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2zkhQF_1GvOfTL900" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2zkhQF_1GvOfTL900" width="507" height="462" ><figcaption>SOURCE: MSHP Reconstruction Report</figcaption></figure>Upon examining axle four, state inspectors observed the interior of the hub assembly and found remnants of the wheel bearing ground into the metal surface. The report indicated that the hub cavity contained no observable or quantifiable levels of lubricant or grease, creating intense friction.Walton pointed to pictures taken by state troopers that show what he described as discoloration caused by extreme heat on the wheel bearing.“It shouldn’t be red like that and it certainly have the blue that you see,” Walton said. “Those are signs of heat and as found by the MSHP, evidence of metal on metal. That occurs only from a lack of lubrication. What happens is this gets so hot that it catastrophically fails.”Attorneys are examining service records to determine if warning signs were overlooked prior to the crash. A tractor-trailer maintenance log dated August 2025 asserted that lubricant was applied to the wheel assembly.Walton argued that if grease had actually been applied, the component would not show severe heat damage or metal grinding. He demonstrated the discrepancy by presenting a side-by-side comparison with a lubricated wheel bearing on the same trailer.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2wlUQ7_1GvOfTL900" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2wlUQ7_1GvOfTL900" width="655" height="433" ><figcaption>Wheel bearing that failed in crash Source: MSHP Reconstruction Report</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2Oz2Hz_1GvOfTL900" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2Oz2Hz_1GvOfTL900" width="1488" height="992" ><figcaption>Another wheel bearing on the same trailer Source: Troy Walton</figcaption></figure>“This is what the grease should look like. This is what this should have looked like,” Walton said. “The only conclusion can be that at the time it was last maintained, there wasn’t enough lubricant or grease put into the hub assembly. Because grease doesn’t just magically disappear.”Traffic safety video recorded by the Missouri Department of Transportation captured the tractor-trailer in the right lane while Hartmann traveled in the left lane. The video showed the wheel detaching, hitting a barrier, bouncing across the interstate and flying high into the air before striking Hartmann’s vehicle.Andy Leonard, Hartmann’s longtime friend and family lawyer who communicated with Hartmann almost daily for 48 years, said the extraordinary circumstances compelled the family to seek answers.“The odd sort of random nature of it led us to want to know why a truck driving down the highway would lose a tire,” Leonard said. “He was kind. He was loyal. He was always, always generous.”Walton said investigators are continuing to review maintenance documentation and service records. The legal team has not ruled out filing a lawsuit if findings confirm that the failure resulted from negligent vehicle upkeep.All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KTVI. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KTVI staff before being published.</div></body>

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ST. LOUIS — Legal counsel representing the family of Riverfront Times founder Ray Hartmann maintains that the highway collision that killed him in April was completely preventable. According to Missouri State Highway Patrol accident reconstruction records reviewed by FOX 2 News, Hartmann died on April 23 along Interstate 64,...

Missing grease cited in crash that killed RFT founder Ray Hartmann

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