Man arrested in connection to deadly Oldham County hit-and run on Christmas Day

CRESTWOOD, Ky. (WAVE) - Police have arrested a man in connection to a deadly hit-and-run crash on Christmas Day in Oldham County.

Gerald Rath, 58, has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident or failure to render aid causing death or serious physical injury and tampering with physical evidence.

According to Rath’s report, detectives with Oldham County Police received a notification on Wednesday regarding a suspect vehicle that was involved in the deadly hit-and-run on Christmas Day in the 6100 block of West Ky. Highway 146.

Police were originally called to the area and located 60-year-old LaGrange resident Gage Thurman unresponsive and with visible head trauma.

Thurman was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police found the suspect gray Jeep Cherokee three days later, which had front passenger side damage, including debris that matched what was found at the scene.

Rath was contacted as the owner of the vehicle, and when he was asked about the damage, he told officers that he had hit a deer around 6 or 7 p.m. on Ky. 146 in Crestwood.

Documents state Rath said several times it was a deer. He told officers he went back to check several times but did not find the deer.

Rath gave detectives consent to check the vehicle, where they found the damage and noted it matched the vehicle seen in the security vehicle.

The vehicle had a noticeable yellow Iowa Hawkeyes sticker on the driver’s door that could be also seen on the video, police said.

Rath also told officers he had cleaned the vehicle and removed parts from it, giving detectives clearance to enter his garage and retrieve the vehicle parts.

He was booked in the Oldham County Detention Center and will appear in court on Jan. 4, 2023.