2 Trotwood High School grads among dead, injured in fiery Trotwood crash

TROTWOOD — The three people killed in Wednesday night’s fiery crash at a Trotwood intersection have been identified as 35-year-old Leah Smith of Dayton, 18-year-old Elgin Wilson IV of Dayton and 18-year-old Michael Stephens of Trotwood, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Dayton Post, reports.

Antonion Ward, 19, of Dayton, was driving a Chevrolet Cruze south on Olive Road, failed to yield for a red light and hit a Mazda CX-9 driven by Smith. She was headed east on Little Richmond Road.

Smith died at the scene. A 3-year-old in Smith’s car was rescued from a child safety seat and taken to Dayton Children’s Hospital, suffering from a minor injury.

Wilson and Stephens, who were in Ward’s car, died at the scene, the patrol said.

Ward suffered serious injuries and was taken to Miami Valley Hospital. His condition is not known.

Neither alcohol nor drugs was found to be a factor. The crash remains under investigation and once completed will be sent to the appropriate prosecutor’s office for review and determination of charges, according to the patrol.

Two of the victims were Trotwood High School graduates from the Class of 2020, said district officials, who did not release any names.

“While we are still gathering details, reliable sources indicate that RAM Nation has suffered a tragic loss,” district officials said in a prepared statement. “We are saddened to learn that two of our recent graduates from the Trotwood-Madison High School Class of 2020 were involved” in the crash.

The district is working to implement its emergency protocol and will provide grief counselors next week, and a memorial service will be held.

The accident occurred about 9:40 p.m., according to the state patrol’s preliminary investigation.

The collision sent Ward’s vehicle into a tree and Smith’s vehicle into a tree line, where it overturned and caught fire, investigators said Wednesday night.

State troopers said the driver of the first vehicle, later identified as Ward, was in stable condition.

3 killed, others injured in fiery crash at Trotwood intersection The crash was first reported at the intersection around 9:20 p.m. Wednesday. A preliminary investigation found a vehicle traveling southbound on Olive Road ran a red light and crashed into another vehicle that was traveling east on Little Richmond Road.

Excessive speed also was a factor in the crash, state troopers said.

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