The founder of the Riverfront Times and St. Louis Magazine was 73.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Ray Hartmann, a longtime St. Louis journalist, media founder and former congressional candidate, died April 23 after loose tractor-trailer tires struck his car on Interstate 64, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report.
Hartmann’s death stunned a city where he had been a sharp public voice for nearly 50 years. He founded the Riverfront Times, helped revive St. Louis Magazine and spent decades at the roundtable on Nine PBS’ public affairs show “Donnybrook.” The patrol report gives the clearest public record of the crash, while family, former colleagues and local media outlets have described the loss as sudden and severe.
The crash happened at 2 p.m. April 23 on eastbound Interstate 64, west of Interstate 270, in St. Louis County, the patrol report says. Hartmann, 73, was driving a 2023 Chevrolet Bolt. A 2020 Volvo VNL listed as the second vehicle lost two left-side towed-unit tires, according to the report. The tires struck a concrete median, became airborne and hit the roof of the Bolt. The report says the tires went through the roof and struck the driver. West County EMS and Fire took Hartmann to Mercy Hospital St. Louis, where he was pronounced dead at 2:05 p.m. by Dr. Charles Caffrey.
The Highway Patrol report lists Hartmann’s vehicle as totaled and towed by Terry’s Towing. It lists the Volvo as having extensive damage and says it was driven from the scene by the owner. The report identifies the Volvo driver only as a 64-year-old man from McVille, North Dakota, and does not list a public name. The report says both drivers were wearing safety devices. Spectrum News reported that troopers later caught up with the truck driver on Highway 100 near Des Peres and that the driver was cooperating. Officials had not publicly said whether the driver knew the tires had come loose. The patrol listed the incident as a fatality crash and said the investigation involved Trooper D. Gillespie and the Major Crash Investigation Unit.
Hartmann was one of St. Louis’ best-known media figures. He started the Riverfront Times in 1977, when he was in his 20s, and the publication became an alternative weekly known for aggressive local coverage and commentary. He later sold the paper and helped build St. Louis Magazine. He also co-created “Donnybrook” in 1987 and remained one of its central voices for decades. Nine PBS said Hartmann was “a cornerstone of St. Louis journalism and a foundational voice of Donnybrook.” The station said he rarely missed a week at the program’s roundtable and helped make the show one of the region’s most recognized local public affairs programs.
Hartmann stepped away from his “Donnybrook” role in 2024 to run as a Democrat for Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District. He won the Democratic primary in August 2024, then lost the November general election to Republican U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner. Official state results show Wagner with 233,444 votes, or 54.5%, and Hartmann with 182,056 votes, or 42.5%. The district covers parts of the St. Louis region, including suburban communities where Hartmann had spent much of his life and career. Before the campaign, he had also worked as a radio host, columnist, business owner and board member for civic groups.
Family attorney Andy Leonard said Hartmann’s wife, Kerri, was at Mercy Hospital when doctors explained that efforts to save him had failed. “We’d like to thank the police officers who came to the scene and the doctors and staff at Mercy Hospital, who were informative and kind,” Leonard said. He said Hartmann is survived by Kerri and their children, Ben and Brielle. The family asked for privacy after the crash. First Alert 4 reported that Hartmann’s family believed he died at the scene, while the patrol report says he was pronounced dead at the hospital minutes after the crash.
Former “Donnybrook” panelist Charlie Brennan said he had seen Hartmann almost weekly for decades and described their friendship as close. “We were kind of like brothers,” Brennan said. He called Hartmann “a character we all loved” and said the show’s rule that panelists remained friends after heated debate was part of Hartmann’s legacy. Other writers and readers remembered Hartmann as a tough editor, a mentor and a political commentator who kept writing after his congressional race. Gateway Journalism Review noted that he had built a following through online columns after the campaign.
The Highway Patrol has not announced charges or citations. The public crash report remains the main official account of what happened on Interstate 64. Hartmann’s death now moves through the patrol’s crash review process, while St. Louis media groups continue to publish remembrances of his work.
Author note: Last updated April 29, 2026.