A 24-hour period beginning Wednesday saw several crashes throughout Union County. Shown above left is a truck that ran off the side of the road and flipped over before coming to stop at 12:33 p.m. on U.S. 33 near U.S. 42.
(Journal-Tribune photos by Will Channell and Georgia Davis)
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The nice weather didn’t stop a slew of crashes on Union County’s roads and highways over a 24-hour period beginning Wednesday.
Intuition might say winter is more dangerous, but according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s traffic crash report for 2016, last summer had considerably more crashes than colder times of the year. August was reported to be the most dangerous month, with 10,401 crashes against March’s, the least dangerous month, with 8,116 crashes.
According to reports from the Union County Sheriff’s Office, there were several crashes within the 24-hour span, both injury and non-injury, throughout the county.
This morning, there was a four-car crash on U.S. 33 west of U.S. 42. According to an officer on the scene, no one was transported for medical attention, but it caused severe traffic backup on the westbound lane.
Several cars opted to driving across the grassy median and double back to find another route. Other cars drove the wrong way up the off ramp from U.S. 42. The lane reopened at around 9 a.m.
Reports for yesterday’s crashes remain unfinished, but some information is available through the Sheriff’s Office’s daily reports.
Sheriff deputies, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Northern Union County Fire and EMS units responded to another crash Wednesday at 9:31 a.m. on Route 47 that included a 1996 Ford Contour striking a front-end loader.
The driver ignored road closed signs on the road, which were caught under the vehicle. The truck’s right front tire clipped the skid-loader, causing it to flip over and hit a dumpster. MedFlight transported the driver for medical attention.
Later on Wednesday, there was another crash on U.S. 33 near U.S. 42 at 12:33 p.m. where a 2009 Ford F-250 ran off the right side of the road and rolled over. Union County Sheriff’s deputies and the Jerome Township Fire Department responded, and no-one required medical transport.
Later that afternoon, deputies and units from the Jerome Township Fire Department were sent to the intersection of U.S. 42 and Jerome Road for an injury crash involving a 2007 Honda Civic and a 2012 Ford Focus.
More minor crashes on Wednesday included a two vehicle crash on S. Vine Street and E. Sixth Street at 8:57 a.m., a two-vehicle crash in the 21000 block of Wolford Maskill Road at 12:22 p.m. and an instance of an unknown vehicle driving through a yard in the 29000 block of snare road that struck a bench before leaving the scene.
“I don’t know why yesterday and today turned out to be bad for crashes,” Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Tom Morgan said. He also said he didn’t want to speculate on why there have been so many traffic crashes in recent days.
Pictured above is a crash that occurred today at about 7:30 a.m. at nearly the same location. It was a four-car crash that disrupted westbound traffic on U.S. 33 until about 9 a.m.
Pictured above is a crash that involved a truck that clipped a front-end loader before flipping and hitting a dumpster on Route 37.