At about 8:30 p.m., only the eastbound lanes of 725, west of 127, remained closed, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol post at Eaton in Preble County, and those were expected to be cleared for traffic within a half-hour.
According to an initial OSP investigation, a semi traveling east on Ohio 725 failed to stop as it approached a red light. The driver, Michael Henning, 37, of Camden, swerved to avoid stopped traffic but collided with a northbound tanker carrying liquid fertilizer.
The tanker continued through the intersection after the collision and struck a pole, breaking it and taking down traffic lights. The driver of the tanker, Lance E. Eyler, 29, of Eaton, was taken to McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital in Oxford suffering from injuries that were not believed to be life threatening.
Henning’s rig, which was carrying grain, caught fire after the collision. He was taken to Miami Valley Hospital, while his 10-year-old son was taken via CareFlight to Dayton Children’s Medical Center. Their injuries were not considered life threatening.
A third semi, driven by George R. Williams, 63, of Greencastle, Ind., was stopped in the southbound lane of U.S. 127 waiting to make a right onto Ohio 725. That rig was struck by debris, but Williams was uninjured.
Williams told News Center 7 that he’s been driving since 1971 and has never seen a crash like it.
He said he saw Henning’s truck coming toward the intersection. “I said, wow, he wasn’t stopping so I sat right where I was at.”
Emergency responders quickly put down sand to soak up the liquid fertilizer and used a back hoe to dig a trench to keep it from reaching the ground water. The Ohio EPA was at the scene, monitoring the spill.
No citations have been issued and the crash remains under investigation.
News Center 7 reporter Jenna Deery contributed to this story.
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