OHIO — A driver from southwest Ohio was arrested after a single-vehicle crash killed a passenger on an icy road in Wayne County early Sunday morning, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Troopers responded to an iPhone crash notification around 12:30 a.m. on Hackett Road near South Millborne Road, just east of Apple Creek.
Investigators say a gray 2020 Ford F-250 Super Duty pickup truck was traveling east when it lost control, veered off the left side of the road, hit a ditch, and overturned onto its right side.
None of the truck’s occupants were wearing seatbelts, troopers said.
One passenger was uninjured, but the right rear passenger, identified as Hannah Eve Baird of Big Prairie in Holmes County, suffered serious injuries.
Medics attempted life-saving measures at the scene before transporting her to a hospital in Wooster, where she was pronounced dead.
The driver was arrested at the scene after troopers determined that alcohol was a factor in the crash.
“The actions and the events that led to the death of Baird remain under investigation with charges pending,” the highway patrol said in a statement.
This marks the first fatal crash in Wayne County this year.
According to the highway patrol, driver impairment has been responsible for 55% of traffic deaths in the county over the past five years, and 43% of unbelted occupants involved in crashes have been killed.
