Two I-75 crashes leave one dead

Two separate crashes on Interstate 75 Friday, left two people injured and one dead.

The first crash occurred on an exit ramp southbound to Austin Boulevard around 4:30 a.m., according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Joshua Fittz, 23, of Dayton died in the single-vehicle crash in which the SUV he was in overturned. George J.C. Cope II, 23, of Miamisburg, who was also in the vehicle is critical but stable at Kettering Hospital.

Troopers said they believe the SUV may have driven off the left side of the road before overcorrecting and driving off the right side of the ramp.

It is unclear which man was driving. Both were ejected from the vehicle, troopers said. Neither is believed to have been wearing his seat belt.

Troopers said there were no obvious signs at the scene that alcohol played a role in this crash. No cause was determined Friday afternoon.

A 25-year-old Mason man was reported to be in fair condition Friday afternoon following the second one-car accident on Interstate 75 south, which occurred near Ohio 73 in Franklin.

Nathan Wells, taken to Miami Valley Hospital by Care Flight, likely will be charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated because an investigation has determined he was under the influence of drugs when the accident occurred at about 1:30 p.m., said Lt. Matt Hamilton, Lebanon Post of the Ohio Highway Patrol.

Wells was driving a pickup truck south when the right rear tire blew, causing the vehicle to roll over, Hamilton said, noting that the vehicle traveled “some distance” on the flat.

All lanes of the highway were opened as of 2:45 p.m.

Staff writers Rick McCrabb, Mandy Gambrell and Drew Simon, and Katie Wedell contributed to this report.

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