MORROW COUNTY, Ohio — Four people were killed and another was seriously injured in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 71 in Morrow County early Sunday morning.
The crash happened around 2:40 a.m. on I-71 near mile marker 152 in Franklin Township. According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, 32-year-old Larry Dotson was driving a Hyundai Tucson the wrong way, heading northbound in the southbound lanes, when he struck another vehicle head-on.
Both vehicles overturned and caught fire.
Dotson, of Canton, was pronounced dead at the scene along with his passenger 32-year-old Marlee Middleton, of Massillon. OSHP says neither was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
The vehicle hit was a Jeep Grand Cherokee that had three people from Columbus inside. The driver was taken to OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital with serious injuries. The two passengers, 31-year-old Cristal Galloso Olvera and 50-year-old Ivonne Olvera, were pronounced dead at the scene.
OSHP says it’s unclear if the passengers in the Jeep were wearing seat belts, but the driver was wearing one at the time of the crash.
It’s unknown at this time if drugs and alcohol were factors in the crash.
The crash remains under investigation.
“Anytime there is a wrong-way crash, it’s a tragic situation. I know these are 100% preventable. There is zero reason you should get on the highway going the wrong direction,” said ODOT Press Secretary Matt Bruning.
In Columbus, ODOT plans on investing $2.7 million into new detection technology on 31 interstate ramps in the metro area to prevent wrong-way crashes.
Those systems are already in Cincinnati and Dayton, and soon Columbus will be included. ODOT will install the cameras on-ramps to alert of wrong-way drivers.
“It will be triggered when it detects a driver going the wrong way. Not only does it alert drivers, but also our traffic management system in Columbus so they can let law enforcement know what is going on,” said Bruning.
By alerting law enforcement faster, ODOT hopes they can stop a crash.
ODOT said Columbus can expect the new technology towards the end of this year or early next year. You can read more about the new technology here.
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