SIDNEY — Shelby County was the site of two roll-over automobile accidents, Sunday morning.
The first took place at about 3:50 a.m. in the 11000 block of the Hardin-Wapakoneta Road. The second closed northbound lanes of Interstate 75 near Exit 104, Botkins, for a brief time around 9 a.m.
Hardin-Wapak Road
According to a report by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, William M. Littlefield, 53, David P. Mangen, 17, and Ronald Todd, 17, were in a 2003 Chevy Silverado, traveling south on Hardin-Wapak Road.
“The driver failed to negotiate (a) curve and went off the right side of the roadway. The vehicle went sideways into a field, where it began to overturn multiple times,” the report said.
At press time, responders had not established who the driver was. Littlefield and Todd were ejected from the vehicle. Mangen had got out of the car under his own power by the time sheriff’s deputies and the Fort Loramie Fire and Rescue squad responded to the accident.
The rescue squad transported all three victims to Wilson Health. Mangan appeared to have nonlife-threatening injuries. Littlefield and Todd were transported by separate helicopters from Wilson Health to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. Their condition was not known at press time.
“It appears none of the occupants (was) wearing (a) seat belt. Alcohol was found at the scene and is a possible contributing factor in the crash,” the sheriff’s report said. The crash remains under investigation.
Interstate 75
Troopers from the Piqua Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded to the accident on the interstate just north of the Botkins exit around 9 a.m.
It appeared to be a one-car accident, but “there is no way to prove or disprove that another car was involved,” said Trooper Eldridge.
An elderly couple from Ontario, Canada, were driving north in the left lane on the interstate. They claimed that a car in the right lane moved left, forcing them off the road and into the median.
“They then tried to come back onto the roadway and overturned into the (right) northbound lane,” Eldridge said. If there had been another car, it didn’t stop. And, the trooper noted, there was no indication of a secondary vehicle. The Canadians’ car had not been hit by another car.
Troopers closed the highway for about 20 minutes to deal with the accident. During the closure, traffic was routed to exit into Botkins and then get back on the interstate north of the site. The couple were taken to Wilson Health with nonlife-threatening injuries, treated and released.
The car sustained damage, but, Eldridge said, an insurance company would have to assess how much damage.
There was no indication that alcohol or drugs had played a part in the accident, he said.
