Ray Hartmann, a fixture of St. Louis media for nearly four decades, was killed Thursday afternoon when two tires separated from a tractor-trailer on Interstate 64 and struck his vehicle. He was 73 years old.
Hartmann was driving eastbound on I-64 near Interstate 270 around 2 p.m. when the tires went airborne, according to KMOV, citing the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The tires struck the roof of his car. His longtime friend and attorney, Andy Leonard, said Hartmann died at the scene.
The investigation into the fatal crash remains ongoing. Authorities have not publicly identified the tractor-trailer driver or the carrier, nor have they disclosed why the tires came loose.
Hartmann's career in St. Louis media stretched back decades. He founded the Riverfront Times and St. Louis Magazine, two publications that shaped the city's media landscape. In 1987 he co-founded "Donnybrook," the long-running debate program on Nine PBS, and spent nearly four decades as a panelist on the show.
He was, by every account available, a man who poured himself into his city. Fellow "Donnybrook" panelist Alvin Reid put it plainly.
"Ray was determined to make a difference in St. Louis. He wanted to make a difference on every show."
Reid also said Hartmann's presence will endure on the program he helped build. "As long as we do this show, Ray will be a part of this show and a part of St. Louis," he said. The loss clearly hit Reid hard: "I really do feel like I'm talking about Ray in the present. I can't believe I'm talking about Ray in the past. That hasn't really hit me yet."
Sudden, senseless accidents like this one remind us how quickly ordinary days can turn fatal. A Missouri priest was killed last year in a motorcycle crash that similarly stunned a tight-knit community without warning.
In 2024, Hartmann stepped away from the media world to run for Congress in Missouri's 2nd District. He won the Democratic primary but lost the general election to incumbent Ann Wagner, as 5 On Your Side reported. After that race, he returned to the journalism and commentary that had defined his public life.
Charlie Brennan, a longtime friend and fellow "Donnybrook" host, said Hartmann still had plenty left to give.
"I think he had books to write, columns to write, causes to champion, and I'm very sorry that he's not going to be around to get to those."
"His departure was too soon," Brennan added.
Key details about Thursday's crash remain unanswered. Neither the identity of the tractor-trailer operator nor the trucking company has been released. Investigators have not said publicly what caused two tires to separate from the rig while it was moving at highway speed. It is unclear which agency is leading the probe, the Missouri State Highway Patrol was cited as the initial reporting authority, but no spokesperson has been quoted on next steps.
Road debris and tire separations are a persistent hazard on American highways. The circumstances here, two tires coming loose simultaneously and going airborne into oncoming traffic, raise serious questions about vehicle maintenance, inspection standards, and carrier accountability. Those answers may take weeks or months to surface.
Freak accidents involving vehicles have taken lives in disturbing ways across the country in recent months. In one case, a two-year-old Ohio girl died after being trapped by a power seat in an SUV, a reminder that the machines Americans rely on every day can turn lethal in an instant.
Hartmann is survived by his wife, Kerri, and two children, Ben and Brielle, both of whom were away at college at the time of the accident. Kerri Hartmann gave a statement to 5 On Your Side.
"It's such a tragic loss. He was dearly loved. We're going to miss him so much."
Leonard, who confirmed the manner of Hartmann's death, described the scene in stark terms. "The news covered the accident last night, and I can confirm that Ray was in his car when a tire crashed through his windshield. We believe that he died at the scene," he said.
Fatal incidents on public roads have made headlines with grim regularity. A 25-year-old Irvine woman was killed by work trucks in a parking lot in another case that left a community searching for answers about how such a routine moment could turn deadly.
For the people of St. Louis, Thursday's loss is personal. Hartmann wasn't a national celebrity. He was a local institution, the kind of journalist who stayed in his city, built publications from scratch, argued on television for decades, and then ran for office when he thought he could do more good in a different seat. Whether you agreed with his politics or not, his commitment to the place he called home was not in question.
The investigation into the crash continues. No charges have been announced. The trucking industry's inspection and maintenance practices will likely face renewed scrutiny as details emerge, or fail to.
Separate vehicle-related tragedies, like the incident in Louisiana where a vehicle plowed into a Lao New Year parade, underscore a broader reality: American roads remain dangerous, and accountability after fatal incidents too often comes slowly, if it comes at all.
A man drove to work on a Thursday afternoon and never came home. Somebody owes his family an explanation for why two tires were loose on a tractor-trailer barreling down an interstate.
