RELATED: Semi-trailer black box technology aids in fatal Preble County crash
A visitation for Schon, Melissa, and Emerie Hudson will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Eaton Church of the Brethren, at 813 Camden Road, south of Eaton. The funeral will follow at the church at 2:30 p.m.
UPDATE @ 5:55 p.m. (Sept. 14):
Camden police hope that the "black box" technology inside the semi-trailer of Brian Murphy will help aid in the criminal investigation.
UPDATE @ 1:23 p.m. (Sept. 14):
The mother killed in a crash that killed two others was approximately 16 weeks pregnant, according to Camden Police Chief Matt Spurlock.
Melissa Hudson’s autopsy revealed the pregnancy, Spurlock said.
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UPDATE @ 1 a.m. (Sept. 14)
A woman who identified herself as Schon Hudson’s paternal aunt said Melissa Hudson was pregnant at the time of her death.
Schon and Melissa Hudson, of Camden, along with their 3-year-old daughter Emerie, were killed Tuesday afternoon when a semi driver T-boned their Jeep Cherokee at U.S. 127 and Ohio 725.
Sandy Miller, of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, said her nephew called her three weeks ago to say he was so excited they were expecting a baby boy.
UPDATE @ 7:10 p.m. (Sept. 13)
Camden Police Chief Matt Spurlock said he has learned the trucker accused of speeding and causing Tuesday’s fatal accident was in a medically induced coma at 5:45 p.m. As of 7 p.m., the condition of trucker Brian Murphy, 61, of Centerville, Indiana, is not known.
UPDATE @ 3:20 p.m. (Sept 13)
According to the Camden Police Chief, Matt Spurlock, speed is believed to be a factor in Tuesday’s triple fatal accident. Spurlock said the speed limit through the area is 50 mph and they know the driver of the semi was traveling faster than that.
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The truck driver was employed by Family Tradition LLC of Richmond, Indiana, and that company has hired a lawyer to represent them in all legal matters resulting from the crash.
Spurlock also says there is footage available from gas station surveillance cameras that were located next to the wreck. Camden Police are currently reviewing the tapes and will release any additional information.
EARLIER REPORT
A father, mother and small child are dead after a multiple-vehicle accident Tuesday afternoon on U.S. 127 at state Route 725 in Camden, Preble County:
- Dead are Melissa and Schon Hudson, both 34, and Emerie, 3, all of Camden
- Preliminary finding: Inattentive driving by big rig operator
- Witnesses say semitrailer ran red light on U.S. 127, T-boned car carrying the 3 victims
- Melissa Hudson is a substitute teacher at Preble Shawnee Local Schools
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Credit: DaytonDailyNews
The Victims
All three fatalities, in a Jeep Cherokee, died at the scene.
They are the driver, Melissa Hudson, 34; her husband, Schon Hudson, also 34, and their daughter, Emerie, 3, according to a statement from the Preble County Sheriff’s Office.
All are Camden residents.
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
Melissa Hudson was a substitute teacher for Preble Shawnee Local School at West Elkton Intermediate and Camden Primary, according to school officials.
Melissa Hudson and Schon Hudson have two surviving children who are also students at the Preble Shawnee district.
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
The driver of the semi, Brian Murphy, 61, of Centerville, Indiana, remains in Miami Valley Hospital suffering from serious injuries.
Murphy’s semi hit two other vehicles -- a Honda van and a Toyota -- and the drivers of those vehicles were treated at the scene. They are John Murray, 50, also of Camden, and Paul Stiver, 47, of Germantown.
The accident was reported just before 3 p.m.
U.S. 127 at state Route 725 was closed for roughly 7 ½ hours for the investigation by sheriff’s deputies and Camden police.
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The Investigation
The semitrailer ran a red light as it headed south on U.S. 127 and T-boned the Jeep Cherokee carrying the Hudsons headed east on state Route 725, Camden Police Chief Matt Spurlock said the preliminary investigation shows.
Earlier Tuesday evening, Chief Spurlock said the preliminary investigation also pointed to inattentive driving by the big rig operator as the cause of the accident.
But, Spurlock said, “I’m not going to point fingers until we get through this.”
The investigation by the sheriff’s office, the police department and the Preble County Coroner’s Office is continuing.
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What Witnesses Saw and Heard
Murphy was trapped in his semitrailer for approximately two hours before rescuers were able to extricate him.
A crowd that had gathered at the accident scene applauded as rescuers removed him and loaded him into an ambulance.
Hannah Allen, of Seven Mile, said she heard the collision involving the semi and the Jeep. She said she and her boyfriend were pulling into a BP station, off of 725, when she heard the crash.
"I've never witnessed anything like this in my life," Allen said. "Every time I close my eyes, that noise just comes back in my mind."
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The Aftermath
He said, “Whether we release the names yet or not, a lot of these people standing around [the crash scene], they know who our victims are. They are either family or friends and that’s what makes it more of a tragedy.”
Spurlock said some things have been done to combat such accidents at the intersection, such as the installation of sensors, since the last “vicious crash” there a few years ago.
He said the village police department is going to “dig into this to see if we can do anything different where this doesn’t happen again.
“At this point, early in the investigation, I don’t know if there’s anything we can change here .... If there is something that can be changed, it will be.”
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
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