An Akron woman has been convicted in the death of Kameron Rubin, the 30-year-old auto shop owner who was struck and killed while working on his disabled SUV along Interstate 480 in Macedonia in January 2023. Africa Watson, 28, was found guilty following a trial that concluded nearly three years after the crash, and she now faces sentencing next month.
According to Cleveland.com, Watson has been convicted of vehicular manslaughter in Rubin's death. Fox 8, however, reported that Watson was convicted Friday, Sept. 18, on a first-degree felony count of aggravated vehicular homicide. Watson was also found guilty of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, per the same Cleveland.com account.
The crash happened just after 2:45 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2023, on the shoulder of I-480 East near milepost 33, according to the report from the same outlet. Rubin had pulled over and was outside working on his SUV when another vehicle struck him, and several vehicles were parked nearby with their hazard lights on at the time. Macedonia police officers responded to a report of a body found in the roadway and, upon arriving, found Twinsburg officers already trying to help him.
Evidence Pointed to Watson's Car
Rubin was taken to UH Ahuja Medical Center in Beachwood, where he was pronounced dead. Investigators found blood near the area of impact, and police said the driver, Watson, appeared to be intoxicated. Officers also located a vehicle with severe damage to its passenger-side front end and a dent on the driver's-side door, evidence that pointed to the car having struck Rubin.
Watson told police she had pulled over because of a flat tire, but officers reported finding no flat tires on her vehicle. She was arrested in January 2023 in connection with Rubin's death and on a charge of operating a vehicle under the influence.
A Long Road Through the Courts
The case took an unusually long path to this verdict. A jury in Watson's first trial in Summit County Common Pleas Court deadlocked on the aggravated vehicular homicide charge in October 2023, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. That same jury found Watson guilty of operating a vehicle under the influence, a first-degree misdemeanor, and prosecutors announced they would retry her on the felony vehicular homicide charge, which the paper described as a second-degree felony. Following that first trial, Watson had been scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 2, 2023, by Summit County Common Pleas Judge Susan Baker Ross on the misdemeanor conviction alone, before the felony retrial moved forward.
Earlier coverage from the Beacon Journal identified Watson's vehicle as a silver 2017 Hyundai Sonata that was traveling east on I-480 when it struck and killed Rubin. Watson is now scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 16, 2026, following the felony conviction reported this week.
Remembering Kameron Rubin
Rubin owned and operated Dynamic Auto Performance and Service, having earned his automotive technician certification from Portage Lakes Career Center. He was a graduate of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School and a member of the school's 2009 state basketball championship team, and he went on to attend Ohio University.
Rubin also spent five years playing semi-pro football, including time with the Erie Express, a team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. That biographical detail was included in a report from centredaily.com, which noted he was a St. Vincent-St. Mary graduate who played for the Erie Express.
Summit County Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich said the loss of Rubin is a tragedy. Kolkovich said the conviction cannot bring Kameron back but may provide his family some closure, according to the report from Cleveland.com. Watson's sentencing is set for next month, when a judge will determine what penalty she faces for the crash that killed Rubin nearly three years ago.
