An Ohio Department of Transportation worker was ejected from the cargo area of an ODOT truck Sunday night on Interstate 70 East in a separate chain-reaction crash after a semi overturned three miles up the highway.
- I-70 E closed for overturned semi between Ohio 72, 41
- ODOT truck hit placing cones on I-70 E at U.S. 68
- ODOT worker's injuries not life-threatening
- Injuries minor for driver of overturned semi
The ODOT worker, identified as 25-year-old Garrett M. Fosnaugh of South Vienna, was part of a crew placing cones on eastbound I-70 at U.S. 68 to alert motorists to a highway shutdown caused by an overturned semi. He was thrown around 8:30 p.m. from the cargo area of an ODOT road service vehicle, a 2002 International Truck, after the truck was struck by another vehicle, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Springfield Post.
The crash happened after a 2014 Kenworth semi-tractor trailer driven by 58-year-old Jay N. Southworth of Portland, Indiana, attempted to make an abrupt lane change before striking a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by James R. Waters, 39, of Crown Point, Indiana, in the right side.
The semi continued into the right lane, striking the rear of a 2006 Chevrolet Impala driven by Mark A. Florence, 44, of Dayton. The Impala then went off the right side of the roadway and struck the ODOT truck, which was stopped on the right berm.
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Fosnaugh was taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center. His injuries were not life-threatening. Florence was taken to Southview Medical Center in Washington Twp., Montgomery County, by a family member. None of the other vehicle occupants involved claimed injury, according to the highway patrol.
All east lanes of I-70 were shut down near milepost 56 between state Routes 72 and 41 after a semi overturned around 7:15 p.m. and its trailer was on its side blocking all three lanes.
Robert S. Stewart, 44, of Phoenix, Arizona, was traveling east in a 2010 Volvo semi-tractor trailer when he drove off the left side of the road, struck a median cable barrier and overturned. Stewart suffered minor injuries and was taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center, troopers said.
The semi was hauling produce, but the load did not spill. Only one lane was open for about four hours. All lanes of the highway were reopened to traffic around midnight, according to the OSP. The crash remains under investigation.
>> Driver ID’d in fatal wrong-way crash on I-70 E in Clark County
It was the second night in a row part of eastbound Interstate 70 was closed for a crash involving a semi.
On Saturday night, motorist 30-year-old Joshua Vanderpool of Enon, struck a semi head-on in a fiery wrong-way crash reported around 8:20 p.m. Vanderpool was pronounced dead at the scene and the semi driver suffered minor injuries.
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