2 drivers die in three fiery semi crashes on I-70 in Clark County

SPRINGFIELD TWP., Clark County — Two Ohio drivers are dead and two others injured Thursday after three separate fiery crashes involving semis on Interstate 70 in Clark County.

PHOTOS: Fiery fatal crash on I-70 shuts highway down in Clark County

The first two crashes happened Thursday morning on I-70 West, which led to the death of 37-year-old Matthew R. Cornett of Wilmington in the second crash, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Springfield Post.

• Semi crash reported around 7 a.m. on I-70 West between Ohio 72 and U.S. 68
• Second crash around 7:50 a.m. on I-70 W, west of Ohio 41, occurred in the backup
• Matthew Cornett, 37, of Wilmington, killed in second crash on I-70 W
• Jimmy Carnegie, 66, of Englewood, killed in third crash on I-70 E

Semi fire, crash is fatal on WB I-70 in Clark County Semi fire, crash is fatal on WB I-70 in Clark County

Cornett was killed after his 2005 Freightliner struck the rear of a 2018 Freightliner stopped in traffic around 7:50 a.m. on I-70 West between state Routes 41 and 72 in Springfield Twp.

Both semis caught fire upon impact, and Cornett was trapped. He did not make it out before the cab was consumed in flames and was pronounced dead at the scene, Lt. Brian Aller, commander of the patrol’s Springfield Post.

Fatal crash on WB-I70 involving semi A semi truck burst into flames after an accident on westbound I-70 in Clark County. State troopers confirm the crash is fatal.

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The collision pushed the 2018 semi into a 1995 Chevrolet 1500 pickup truck.

The driver of the 2018 Freightliner, Allen R. Rinbolt, 63, of Marion, and the pickup driver, 36-year-old William F. Young, 36, of Yellow Springs, were taken by Springfield Twp. EMS to Springfield Regional Medical Center. Both were wearing seat belts, troopers said.

The first crash was reported around 7 a.m. on I-70 West near U.S. 68 when a semi caught fire, causing state troopers to shut down the highway down near Ohio 72, Aller said.

Both crashes remain under investigation, but Aller said inattentive driving was believed to be a factor in the second crash.

>> Victim in 2nd fatal, fiery I-70 crash in Clark County ID’d

A third fiery crash Thursday on I-70 in Clark County led to the death of an Englewood man.

Jimmy L. Carnegie, 66, was killed after his 2004 Nissan Pathfinder was struck from behind around 1:10 p.m. on I-70 E near mile post 48 in Mad River Twp. by a 2003 Freightliner driven by Abdirashid O. Farah, 39, of Columbus, the patrol said.

Carnegie’s Nissan erupted in flames, but he was pulled out before it was engulfed. He was pronounced dead at the scene, troopers said.

That crash also remains under investigation.

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