Two Injured in Three-Vehicle Crash on I-71 in Ashland County
ASHLAND COUNTY, OH – A three-vehicle crash on Interstate 71 in Ashland County sent two people to the hospital Tuesday morning, according to the Ashland Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The crash happened around 7:37 a.m. at the 180-mile marker when a northbound 2024 Freightliner day cab semi, driven by Daniel Keesey, 46, of Worthington, went off the right side of the highway. The semi, which was hauling nearly 50,000 pounds of alcoholic beverages, struck two pickup trucks that were pulling trailers, Troopers said.
One of the pickups, a 2003 Ford F-550 driven by Dominique Granger, 36, of Mansfield, had stopped to assist a juvenile driver whose pickup and trailer had become disabled along the interstate. While Granger and the juvenile were working to repair the trailer, the Freightliner struck the left side of the juvenile’s trailer and then crashed into Granger’s Ford F-550 and trailer.
The impact nearly tore the Ford truck in half before the semi came to rest in a ditch on the right side of the interstate.
Keesey was not injured, troopers said. Granger and the juvenile were transported to OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The Highway Patrol confirmed that drugs and alcohol were not factors in the crash. Keesey was cited for a marked lanes violation.
Responding agencies included the Ashland Fire Department & EMS and Mifflin EMS.
