Celina man killed in crash in Monroe after vehicle goes airborne, state patrol says

MONROE, Warren County — A 74-year-old Celina man was killed Thursday when the car he was in hit a ditch on state Route 63 in Monroe and went airborne over the on-ramp from 63 East to I-75 North before crashing onto the interstate, the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Hamilton Post reported.

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Melvin Norton was a passenger in a 2016 Chevrolet Equinox LT driven by Mary Jo Hernandez, 44, of Cleveland, Tennessee. The Mercer County man was taken by ground ambulance to U.C. West Chester Medical Center, where he succumbed to life-threatening injuries in the crash that occurred about 3:20 p.m. in Monroe, Warren County.

The preliminary investigation reveals that the Hernandez vehicle was headed west on 63 when it traveled off the right side of the road before hitting the ditch. After going airborne, the Chevrolet landed off the right side of the roadway in the northbound lanes of I-75 and continued across all of the northbound lanes until it struck the concrete median barrier.

The Chevrolet continued over the barrier and ended up in the southbound lanes of I-75.

Hernandez also suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken by CareFlight to Miami Valley Hospital. Her condition Thursday night was not known.

The Hamilton Post is continuing its investigation into the crash.

We will update this report with any new information.

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