Victim in fatal Preble County rollover crash identified

UPDATE@7a.m.:

The person who died in the crash has been identified as Haille McKown, 21 of Indianapolis.

UPDATE @ 8:12 p.m.: The Ohio State Highway Patrol is working to notify the relatives of the person killed and the three others injured when a blown tire is believed to have caused their convertible to rollover Thursday afternoon on I-70 East in Preble County.

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There were four females in the car registered out of Indiana, said Sgt. Matt Cleaveland, Xenia Post, Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The person killed was a passenger. She was thrown from the car and died at the scene, about a mile west of Preble County Line Road, he said. The car came to rest on its top in the grass off the right side of the interstate.

Crash on I-70 East in Preble County Crash on I-70 East in Preble County

Patrol investigators are working to determine whether she was wearing a seat belt. Cleaveland said the driver and the other two passengers were believed to have been wearing seat belts.

All three have been taken to Miami Valley Hospital. One reportedly was in critical condition. The conditions of the others was not known.

The accident was reported just after 6 p.m. and for several minutes caused the shutdown of all three eastbound lanes. Two medical helicopters and several medic units from nearby jurisdictions were dispatched to the accident.

The crash investigation, which continued into Thursday night, kept the right and center lanes closed until further notice. Troopers and other law enforcement agencies on scene were directing traffic off the interstate at the state Route 503 exit to Lewisburg.

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Cleaveland said witnesses reported that the car was traveling at high speed. The posted speed limit on the interstate is 70 mph.

He said speed as well as lane change and driver inattention will be considered in the investigation -- along with the reported tire failure.

“It’s sort of uncommon to see a loss of control this catastrophic from a tire blow out,” Cleaveland said. “However, if there were some other factors that could have caused the crash, we’ll be investigating to learn what caused the accident.”

We will update this developing report as we learn more.

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