One of two people killed in a crash on Interstate 71 was an elected official in Warren County, according to the elections board director in Warren County.
Karen Stutrud, 63, of Oregonia, was the fiscal officer in Washington Twp., elections director Brian Sleeth said.
She and one other person died Tuesday after a three-vehicle crash on I-71 in Clinton County, about 10 miles north of the Jeremiah Morrow Bridge. The crash shut down the interstate in both directions for hours.
One of the other drivers, 55-year-old Timothy Brown Sr. of Lewisburg, Tenn., also was killed.
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Stutrud was running for re-election in November. Her current term runs through March 31. Sleeth indicated the trustees would likely appoint a replacement and call a special election to fill her seat.
The crash occurred about 2:36 p.m. when a southbound semi-trailer driven by 43-year-old Sam Hussein of Columbus sustained a blowout of the left front tire, the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Wilmington Post said. That blowout sent the Freightliner across the median and into northbound traffic.
Hussein’s semi struck a sedan and another semi head-on, killing Stutrud, who was driving a Mercury Sable, and Brown, who was driving the other semi.
Hussein and his passenger, 76-year-old Mohamud Mohamed of Columbus, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken by ambulance to Clinton Memorial Hospital.
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Northbound I-71 reopened just after 11 p.m., ODOT reported. The southbound lanes reopened just after 6:30 p.m., according to ODOT.
No impairment is suspected, according to state patrol investigators, and all drivers were wearing seat belts.
