Two people dead following vehicle crash in Ohio

OHIO — Two people died Saturday evening following a serious car crash in Franklin County.

Deputies with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department responded just before 7 p.m. on June 28 to the 27200 block of West Chapel Road after a caller reported a vehicle had struck a utility pole, a tree, and a house.

Officials said a 2007 Chevrolet Impala was traveling westbound at a “high rate of speed.”

The vehicle became airborne at the top of a hill, damaging the road upon landing. It then veered off the north side, crossed to the south side of the road, and hit a utility pole.

The car continued through a grassy area, crashed into a tree, became airborne again, and finally collided with a home on West Chapel Road.

Both occupants of the Impala were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver was identified as 49-year-old Robert William Leo Dunham from Oldenburg, Indiana, and the passenger as 51-year-old Jesse E. Brummett Jr. from Sunman, Indiana.

Alcoholic beverages were found at the scene, and toxicology tests are pending, according to the sheriff’s department.

Excessive speed is believed to have been a primary factor in the crash based on evidence and witness statements.