A representative from the coroner’s office responds to a fatal accident on Interstate 75 between mile marker 91 and exit 90 on Friday morning. The crash stopped all southbound traffic on Friday a little after 7 a.m. It was the second crash the affected the morning commute. Another crash happened shortly before 5 a.m. on I-75 southbound near the Miami and Shelby County line and backed up traffic several miles into Shelby County. The Sidney Fire Department and Ohio State Highway Patrol also responded to the crash.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
SIDNEY — A fatal crash involving a semi-truck and a van closed all southbound lanes on Interstate 75 between state Route 47 and Fair Road on Friday morning.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said one person is dead following the crash, which occurred at mile marker 90. The crash happened at about 7 a.m.
A representative from the coroner’s office was on the scene investigating the crash, and state patrolmen surrounded the van.
According to the state patrol’s preliminary investigation, a 2019 Ford Transit operated by Damien Webb, 29, of Cardington, was traveling southbound on I-75 just north of the Fair Road exit when it struck the rear of a stationary 2013 Freightliner tractor trailer combination, operated by Irwin Hatfield, 69, of Anna.
The Freightliner was stopped in traffic due to a separate serious injury crash that occurred earlier Friday morning on the Shelby and Miami County line.
After initial impact with the semi, Webb was ejected from his van. He died due to injuries sustained as a result of the crash.
Hatfield said he was not injured.
The crash remains under investigation by the OSP’s Piqua Post.
Aside from the state patrol, the Sidney Fire Department also responded. All lanes were closed due to the accident, and traffic was diverted. Firefighters blocked the southbound ramp off of Michigan Street to prevent traffic from getting on I-75.
It was the second crash on Friday morning that backed up traffic on I-75 southbound in Shelby County.
State patrol officers also responded to the crash near the Shelby and Miami County line shortly before 5 a.m. The crash happened near mile marker 85. It involved a semi and a pickup truck. CareFlight was called to the scene and one person was transported to a local hospital.
Traffic was backed up several miles to Sidney during the morning commute and was further backed up after the fatal crash near the Fair Road exit.
The fatal crash near the Fair Road was the second such incident in Shelby County on Friday morning. A Chillicothe man died on Friday morning after a motorcycle accident in Newport on state Route 66.
