Three people were killed in a chain-reaction crash at a collision scene on I-475/U.S. 23 near the Ohio Turnpike just before daybreak Thursday, and another person was critically injured when she jumped off a bridge to avoid being struck by a vehicle, the Ohio State Highway Patrol reported.
Dead in the 5:25 a.m. accident, which shut down the freeway’s northbound lanes for eight and a half hours, are James South, 68, of Monclova Township; Jodi Lubas, 40, of Maumee, and Dale Barnhiser, 52, of Grand Rapids, Ohio.
Diana Dixon, 48, of Wooster, Ohio, was taken to University of Toledo Medical Center for medical care, troopers at the patrol’s Toledo post said.
PHOTO GALLERY: Click here to view crash scene
No injuries resulted from the initial collision involving a pickup truck Mr. South was driving and a tractor-trailer, according to the report. But the pickup remained disabled in the freeway’s northbound lanes near the bridge over Manley Road and the turnpike, and Ms. Lubas stopped near it, after which a following tandem-trailer truck and a motorcycle driven by Mr. Barnhiser collided with those two vehicles.
Mr. South and Ms. Lubas were struck while standing on the roadway, while Mr. Barnhiser was ejected from the motorcycle and thrown over an embankment onto a field between Manley Road and the turnpike. All three were pronounced dead at the scene, troopers said.
Ms. Dixon, who had stopped after passing the initial collision scene, was running back to that area to offer assistance when the second crash began to occur. She jumped off the I-475 bridge into the field next to Manley, according to the report.
AUDIO OF 9-1-1 CALLS:
Man describing initial accident
Man reporting "vehicles all over the place"
First caller reports second crash, "plowed right through them"
Several callers reporting accident
Injured woman calling after she jumped off bridge
The crash scene was astride the borders of Maumee, Monclova Township, and Springfield Township. Both the Springfield and Monclova fire departments responded, as did Maumee police, the Lucas County Sheriff’s office, and the county coroner’s office.
The sequence of events began, according to the state patrol, when the pickup driven by Mr. South attempted to merge from the Dussel Drive entrance ramp and collided with the northbound semi driven by Michael Borowy, 55, of Warren Mich. That semi continued a short distance north after the collision and stopped on the right shoulder.
The truck involved in the later collision that caused the fatalities was driven by John Tucker, 65, of Flint, Mich.
Northbound I-475/U.S. 23 north of the Salisbury/Dussel interchange reopened by 2 p.m., according to an ODOT release. Barricades to the freeway were removed at I-75 in Perrysburg and U.S. 24 in Maumee, and Manley Road also reopened.
WHAT HAPPENED
1. Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by James South, 68, of Monclova, Ohio, attempted to merge onto I-475 North from Dussell Drive, colliding with northbound Freightliner semi driven by Michael Borowy, 55, of Warren, Mich., at 5:25 a.m. Aug. 4, 2011.
2. Pickup was disabled in roadway on bridge overpass of Manley Road and Ohio Turnpike, while Frieghtliner pulled over to side of road past bridge. Mr. South exited his vehicle.
3. Diana Dixon, 48, of Wooster, Ohio, was driving a tanker truck northbound and stopped north of the crash scene. She was running back along I-475 to assist.
4. A northbound Toyota Camry driven by Jodi Lubas, 40, of Maumee, stopped at the crash scene. Ms. Lubas exited her vehicle.
5. A Harley Davidson motorcylce driven by Dale Barnhiser, 52, of Grand Rapids, Ohio, and an International semi driven by John Tucker, 65, of Flint, Mich., both were northbound on I-475 and became involved in a chain reaction accident with the vehicles, drivers and pedestrians at the first crash scene.
6. Ms. Dixon jumped off of the overpass onto the median of the Ohio Turnpike, sustaining critical injuries.
7. Ms. Lubas and Mr. South were struck in the roadway and pronounced dead at the scene.
8. Mr. Barnhiser was thrown from his motorcycle and landed in a field between Manley Road and the Turnpike on the east side of I-475. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
9. Mr. Borowy and Mr. Tucker were not injured.
First Published August 4, 2011, 10:14 a.m.
