UPDATE @ 6:24 p.m. (May 15): An autopsy is planned for the driver of a Toyota MR2 Spyder who was killed in the head-on collision that shut down state Route 503 near West Elkton for nearly three hours.
The name, age and hometown of the fatality is not being made public until the next of kin can be located and notified, Preble County Sheriff Mike Simpson said in a prepared statement.
The autopsy by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office is expected to be completed Tuesday.
According to the preliminary investigation, the sports car was left of center when it burst into flames on impact, trapping the driver, Simpson said.
It is not known whether drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash, which is still under investigation.
Sidney Hacker, 18, of Middletown, the driver of the other car, suffered non-life threatening injuries. He has been taken to Kettering Hospital by medical helicopter. Hacker was driving a Saturn, according to the sheriff’s office.
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UPDATE @ 4:43 p.m.
The male driver of a green sports car did not survive a head-on crash this afternoon in Preble County.
Sheriff Mike Simpson said the green sports car was headed south on Ohio 503 just north of West Elkton when it went left-of-center and struck a northbound maroon Saturn, driven by a 16- or 17-year-old.
The Saturn driver was taken by medical helicopter to the hospital for treatment of injuries not considered life-threatening.
Simpson said when crews arrived on scene, the sports car was on fire and emergency personnel could not get the driver out.
Simpson said witnesses are reporting that, prior to the crash, the green sports car passed a vehicle in a double-yellow section of the roadway.
Ohio 503 is expected to be shut down until the early evening to accommodate the investigation.
INITIAL REPORT (May 15)
A coroner’s investigator has been called to a crash that has Ohio 503 shut down north of West Elkton in Preble County.
Preble County deputies and West Elkton emergency crews responded to the report of a crash resulting in a fire around 2:47 p.m.
The coroner has been notified of the crash and State Route 503 is expected to be shut down at Quaker Trace Road to accommodate the investigation.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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