Warren County Career Center Superintendent Rick Smith said it’s “a tough situation” anytime a young person dies. He said when a student dies during the school year, the district provides additional counseling for students and staff. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, he was unsure if the district will offer counseling.
Jeff Little, a teacher with 15 years experience, was Colborn’s instructor last year in his pre-engineering class and was looking forward to teaching him digital electronics this year. He said Colborn showed “pure kindness” by working with other students on their software projects.
Little learned about Colborn’s death through a text message from a WCCC administrator. Colborn was the first student Little has lost.
“A punch in the gut,” he said. “It was devastating.”
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Colborn was driving a 2004 Honda CR-V southbound on Middleboro Road around 4 p.m. Monday when he failed to yield at a stop sign at the intersection of U.S. 22 in Washington Twp., east of Morrow.
According to OSHP, the CR-V was hit by a 2005 Dodge pickup driven by Joseph Rossman, 32, of Clarksville, who was driving eastbound on U.S. 22.
A passenger in Colborn’s car was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and the occupants of the pickup sustained minor injuries and weren’t transported from the scene by medics, according to the OSHP.
OSHP was assisted on scene by the Warren County Sheriff’s Department, Washington Twp. Fire & EMS and the Warren County Coroner’s Office.
Through Monday, there have been 10 fatalities on Warren County roads, two fewer than during the same time last year, according to the OSHP. There were 19 fatal crashes in Warren in 2019 and 17 in 2018, according to the OSHP.
In Ohio, there have been 537 fatalities this year, 10 fewer than the same time in 2019.
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