CLEVELAND — The Ohio State Highway Patrol is looking into two fatal crashes on the Ohio Turnpike in Erie County within an hour of each other Sunday morning — with the second accident coming during traffic backup from the first.
According to a WKYC news report, t 6:41 a.m., an eastbound International 4300 box truck driven by an Indiana man drove off the roadway and hit a tow truck that was stopped on the shoulder with emergency lights flashing,
Dantrail Reese, 32, of Indianapolis, who was a passenger in the International truck was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver was transported to a Lorain hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the parked tow truck was outside the vehicle at the time of the crash and was not injured.
With traffic stalled as crews worked the scene of the initial crash, troopers say a Toyota Sienna slammed into the back of a Peterbilt 389 tractor-trailer east of the Frailey Road overpass just after 7:30 a.m.
Both the driver and a passenger in the Toyota died at the scene. The driver has since been identified as 56-year-old Hongwei Wang of Chicago. The passenger was identified as Zhangli Liu, 56.
The driver of the tractor-trailer, a 43-year-old Wisconsin man, was not injured.
The turnpike was closed for about three hours while crews cleared the scenes.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
