Mother: Man suffered third-degree burns to face in crash into Middletown plant

A Middletown man is in critical condition at a Dayton hospital after he crashed his vehicle Friday afternoon into the Air Products facility on Yankee Road.

But Middletown Fire Chief Paul Lolli said if additional hydrogen gas lines weren’t shut off so quickly after the fiery crash, the emergency situation would have been “a lot worse.”

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Brandon Hisey, 22, was driving a 2000 Mitsubishi northbound on Yankee Road when he crossed over railroad tracks, lost control and hit several natural gas lines, the police report read. Hisey was driving “unsafe speeds” in the posted 35 mph zone, according to the report. Hisey’s estimated speed was not listed on the report.

Hisey was transported to Atrium Medical Center in Middletown, then flown to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where he was listed in critical condition Monday morning, a hospital official said.

His mother, Jennifer Hisey, said he suffered third-degree burns on his face and arms and second-degree burns over the rest of his body.

“It will be a long road” to recovery,” she told the Journal-News.

He said the rapid response from firefighters and Air Products employees reduced the damage caused by the fire that shot flames 30 to 40 feet in the air.

Police and fire crews were called to the scene at 3:30 p.m. Friday and some residents near the plant at 2500 Yankee Road and on Meadow Avenue were evacuated, according to Middletown Police Chief David Birk.

Lolli said there were no residents, employees of Air Products or firefighters were injured.

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