A DRIVER WAS KILLED WHEN THE CAR HE WAS DRIVING CRASHED INTO THE REAR OF A DUMP TRUCK ON U.S. 62 SOUTH OF HILLSBORO , OHIO
Wreck happened on 62 after trucks stopped on road
January 21. 2015
A Highland County man was killed when the car he was driving
crashed into the rear of a dump truck on U.S. 62 south of Hillsboro on
Wednesday.
The driver of the car was Travis W. Gard, 38, of New Market
Township. Gard was pronounced dead at the scene by the Highland County coroner.
The driver of the dump truck, Ricky Yates, 59, West Union, reported only a
minor injury and was not transported.
The crash happened shortly before 7 a.m. Scanner traffic
initially indicated a crash with entrapment, with Careflight standing by.
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, a Rumpke trash
truck was stopped in the northbound lane in the 5200 block of U.S. 62, just
north of New Market. A dump truck came to a stop behind the trash truck,
waiting for southbound traffic to clear before attempting to maneuver around
the trash truck, according to officials.
Just as the driver of the dump truck began to pass the trash
truck, a northbound 2007 Altima driven by Gard crashed into the back of the
dump truck, according to the patrol.
Trooper Titus Gilliland, a crash reconstruction specialist,
was on the scene Wednesday morning. He said Gard was not wearing a seatbelt.
The air bag of the vehicle had deployed.
The trooper said the impact pushed the rear suspension of
the dump truck into the axle. No other injuries occurred.
The trooper said that when the wreck happened, the trash
truck appeared to have been stopped “where it was supposed to be,” slightly off
the right side of the road, and the dump truck appeared to be in the correct
lane.
In addition to the highway patrol, also on the scene were
the Paint Creek fire department, the Highland County Sheriff’s Office and
county coroner Dr. Jeff Beery.
Traffic reopened on U.S. 62 mid-morning. The vehicles
involved in the crash were towed to the nearby Wilson’s Body Shop. Alcohol use
was not involved, according to the patrol. The crash remains under
investigation.