Man drives wrong direction, hits tree in fatal crash

Two bouquets of flowers — one with a ribbon that read “Rest in Peace, Dad” — were placed Thursday at the scene of a fatal accident.

Reginald “Reggie” Mack Sr., 59, of Middletown, was driving a 1994 Ford F-150 the wrong direction on Roosevelt Boulevard around 12:30 a.m. Thursday when he drove his vehicle over the grassy median, striking a tree head-on, said Sgt. Tom Bloomberg of the Lebanon post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Mack was taken to Atrium Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, Bloomberg said. He was not wearing a seat belt and alcohol is suspected to be a factor in the crash, Bloomberg said.

Mack was the only person in the vehicle and no one else was injured in the crash.

Katrinca Mack, a daughter who lives in an apartment on Helton Drive, told Middletown police she had an argument with her father and he left her residence “at a high rate of speed,” according to the police report.

When Middletown police arrived on the scene, because of the damage to the truck’s door, they were unable to get inside the vehicle. They forced open the door, checked Mack’s pulse and said he was not breathing, according to the report.

After Mack turned off Bonita, near the Wilson-Schramm Spaulding Funeral Home, his truck traveled about 1/10 of a mile the wrong direction on Roosevelt Boulevard. By Thursday afternoon, someone had placed flowers at the accident scene. Several pieces of glass were at the foot of the tree that lost some of its bark.

Mack, who lived in the 2200 block of Baltimore Street, has been charged numerous times by Middletown police for a range of crimes, including assaulting an officer, domestic violence and DWI, according to court records.

Bloomberg said it was the first fatal accident in the city this year, and the 11th in Butler County.

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