UPDATE @ 5:58 p.m.: Debra Hurst, 60, of Dayton has been identified as the person killed in the six-vehicle accident on I-75 North in Shelby County, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
UPDATE @ 5:05 p.m.:
A woman believed to be in her 50s has been confirmed as the person killed in the six-vehicle accident on I-75 North between Sidney and Anna in Shelby County.
The woman was in one three passenger cars that got tangled with three commercial vehicles in what is being investigated as a chain-reaction crash about noon, said Lt. Joseph Gebhart, Ohio State Highway Patrol post in Piqua. The woman's name and hometown have not been released.
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One other person has been taken to Miami Valley Hospital, suffering from non life-threatening injuries. The remainder of the people involved were not injured, Gebhart said.
Two of the commercial vehicles and a pickup truck caught fire as a result of the collision and ended up in the median, he said, which led to the closure of the northbound and southbound lanes.
The preliminary investigation so far has found that one of the commercial vehicles did not stop in time for traffic slowed because of construction and triggered a chain-reaction collision, the lieutenant said.
"It appears it's just another one of those cases of inattention, traffic slowing and as a result we have a tragedy on the interstate," he said.
There have been several secondary collisions as well, he said, including two on the interstate some distance south of the fatal crash site and some on secondary roads.
Troopers and Sidney police have directed motorists off the interstate at state Route 47 to Pasco-Montra Road as a detour. Drivers can get back onto I-75 North at state Route 119.
All southbound lanes of the interstate have reopened.
One lane on I-75 North has reopened. Gebhart said it could be at least another hour before both northbound lanes reopen.
He has asked drivers to be patient as the state patrol continues its investigation and grain spilled from one of the semitrailers.
UPDATE @ 4:40 p.m.: Sidney police are allowing traffic onto I-75 North from the interchanges that had been blocked for most of the afternoon.
INITIAL REPORT
One lane of I-75 South has reopened north of Sidney following a fatal crash.
All lanes of I-75 North are still shut down.
The crash is reported north of St. Marys Road and is reported to involve multiple vehicles, including semis, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said.
At least one person has died in the crash, the patrol said.
Significant backups were reported about 12:20 p.m.
As of 2:30 p.m., the highway remains closed in both directions.
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