RUSSIA — A 15-year-old female from Covington lost her life in a fatal crash on state Route 48, near Fessler-Buxton Road, Tuesday morning.
Hayley Worden was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to a press release from Shelby County Sheriff Jim Frye.
Ten-year-old Alexandria Foster and her mother, Angela I. Foster, 37, also the mother of Hayley, all from Covington, are in very critical condition. Also, Sean T. Brown, 27, of Sidney, is in critical condition after the crash. All were occupants of a 2007 Toyota Tundra pickup truck that crashed head-on with a Vectren utility truck.
Deputies responded to the weather-related crash at 7:36 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 5. The investigation indicates the Tundra, driven by Brown, was traveling northbound on state Route 48 when he went left of center and into the path of a southbound 2018 International 4300 utility truck, driven by Chris A. Tebbe, 51, of Russia, causing the head-on crash. The four occupants of the Toyota pickup were trapped inside the vehicle and had to be extricated.
Due to the bad weather, the CareFlight helicopter was unable to fly to respond to the crash, so CareFlight ground transport responded. The driver and passengers of the pickup truck were taken to Dayton by land transportation, Frye said.
Tebbe was transported to Upper Valley Medical Center (UVMC) in Troy with non-life threatening injuries.
Alexandria was taken first to UVMC and from there CareFlight ground transport took her to Dayton Children’s Hospital; her mother, Angela, and Brown were taken to Wilson Health and then onto Miami Valley Hospital by CareFlight ground transport.
The pickup truck was headed to the Houston School district when the crash occurred. The mother was a front-seat passenger and the two juveniles were in the back seat at the time of the crash.
Both girls were both students in the Hardin-Houston Local School District Alexandria was a fifth-grader at Houston Elementary School. Her sister was a sophomore at Houston High School.
“Tragically we lost a Houston High School sophomore female student in this accident,” said Superintendent Ryan Maier. ” Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her immediate family members who were seriously injured in this accident, one being her 5th grade sister. Local clergy and school counselors will be present at school as needed to offer support for our Hardin-Houston students and staff members through these trying times.”
Frye expressed grave concern about the conditions of the occupants of the pickup truck.
Russia and Houston Fire Departments and Covington, Versailles and Fort Loramie Rescue Squads assisted at the scene.
Weather appears to be a factor in the crash, the release said.
