Traffic was backed up for miles in the overnight hours.
The patrol said a 2023 Subaru Legacy going eastbound on Interstate 70 hit a truck-mounted impact attenuator (light, sign and arrow board) belonging to a contractor for the Ohio Department of Transportation.
The Subaru became disabled on the roadway after hitting the truck, and the driver fled on foot from the scene.
The third vehicle, a 2022 Hyundai Elantra, was eastbound on I-70 and hit the disabled Subaru.
Neither the operator of the truck that was hit, nor the Hyundai Elantra driver were injured. The passenger in the Hyundai was transported by CareFlight to Miami Valley Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
“This is yet another reminder to move over and slow down when you see those flashing lights,” said Matt Bruning, statewide press secretary for ODOT. “That’s what this ultimately comes down to.”
ODOT crews have been hit 66 times so far this year, already three fourths of the way to 2024’s full-year total of 88.
And those crash numbers are just for ODOT crews that were hit, not including private contractors like in this case, or local government crews.
Springfield troopers took 34 year old Benjamin T. Ulliman into custody at at 10:47 a.m. this morning where he was charged with a felony hit/skip for leaving the scene of an injury crash, assured clear distance ahead and failure to wear a seat belt.
Ulliman was booked at the Clark County Jail.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Mad River Fire and EMS, Buckeye Towing and Recovery and Dan’s Towing and Recovery assisted on scene.
About the Authors
